


Ineffable Husbands

by Blobfish_Virus, Skrolan



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst, Anxiety, Anxious Crowley (Good Omens), Blood, Bottom Crowley (Good Omens), Child Demon, Choking, Crowley can bake, Dom/sub Undertones, Drunk Crowley, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fluff, Hardcore, Homophobia, Humiliation, Insecurity, Love Confessions, M/M, May none of the actors ever see this, Overdosing, Praise Kink, Smut, Snek Crowley, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Top Aziraphale (Good Omens), Verbal Humiliation, Wing Kink, blowjob, drunk, enbyphobia, for super soft things you need a bit of darkness, godfathers, soft Crowley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 08:19:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 119,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19741786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blobfish_Virus/pseuds/Blobfish_Virus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skrolan/pseuds/Skrolan
Summary: Started out as a roleplay between me and my friend, but i'm finishing it on my own now.After the Armageddon is over with and done, a while after that even, Crowley meets up with Aziraphale to talk about some things, but instead they get into a fight and Crowley bails. A horrible start, and ending, for Crowley, until finally it all resolves, and a little, unexpected family grows to be."Are you seriously now telling me that I am at fault here?"His voice was higher pitched than wanted, a restless cry for help as he drowned in his own emotions. He wanted to cry, scream at the top of his lungs, let his bubbled up emotions and words stream out of him like a geysir but that wasn't his style. He wasn't one to baby like a goddamn idiot, never in the hell ever."I know what I have said. I know that I had on countless occasions given up on the thought of THIS, to be here, to have US. Do you want to know why I did that? I was afraid this wasn't going to work, and I was always so close of backing out, but you know what? I didn't. Just like you didn't run off to a different galaxy. I have went against heaven because I believed that what you did, was going to be the right thing."





	1. Worry And A Fight

**Author's Note:**

> If you find me writing Aziraphel, excuse me. This name is my demise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first few chapters have a bit a lack of punctuation, and I apologize for that. I will try to rework them piece by piece, but I promise, the chapters further in are a bit better in that part.

There was something that hung between them, something that made a moment of comfortable silence feel awkward and heavy. The thing about it was, that either Crowley couldn't feel it, which Aziraphale doubted, judging by how he could feel even the slightest shift of emotions, after knowing his friend for so long, or, he ignored it.

If the angel was honest with himself, he took a great amount of the time they sat in silence to ponder over which was worse, the suppression or the obliviousness. It had started a long time ago, but since neither of them dared to talk about that subject, it had never been made clear what the cause was for such disturbances. Lucky for him he could keep himself busy by swirling the wine in his glass around to avoid any sort of eye contact.

The temptation of lifting his gaze to see what Crowley was doing in those moments of silence was always present, but he never made an effort to give into that thought and only hoped, the other would make the move to break through this unbearable silence.

Crowley sat just across him, staring off at the books, not really daring to speak in the crushing silence either. He was sitting laid back, though visibly pent up, his shirt half unbuttoned and tie as loose as ever. The demon clicked his finger against the already half empty glass of wine in thought until he was bothered by the missing amount of alcohol and took up the wine bottle to pour himself some more.

Absent minded as he was he nearly poured in too much and, as he realized, quickly caught the excess drops on his fingers, staring at them for a moment before he licked them off and finally dared to look at the angel. Sighing he gathered up all his courage under the suffocating atmosphere and spoke up, pondering about his words for a moment with an open mouth.

„Why‘ve you been shutting yourself in here?“

Zira almost let out a noise of relief and surprise when he had the silence filled by just a simple question. Straightening his back he tore his eyes away from his half full glass.

"Ah, no, no. I was simply keeping it closed to have time for something other than dealing with people that are a little too persistent on getting the books I don't want to get rid off."

Taking a sip he made a short pause before speaking up again. "Why would you be interested in that?"

"Oh, just, you know. Checking up", the demon mumbled, running his hands through his hair a little troubled.

Aziraphale wasn't lying, after all he was an angel, but sometimes Crowley felt that he would on purpose not tell him anything he wanted to know. That damn angel, since eternity he'd been making his head hurt. He took a large gulp of wine and gnashed his teeth.

"I mean you not only closed your shop, didn't turn up to tell me anything, but also didn't even do any of your...", he pursed his lips as if he was searching for the words and drew a circle in the air with his finger. "Angel stuff."

"My dear, there is no need to wrap your head around what I'm doing. If anything important would happen, you'd be the first one to know."

In one swift move Aziraphale emptied his glass and sat it down on a small table beside him, circling his finger along the rim to catch a few drops of wine that clung to the glass.

"I know your kind isn't too much of trusting others but", Zira licked the droplets off his finger and turned back to face Crowley with the same fond smile he always wore when he looked at him. "I don't have a reason to hide anything from you, that you should know."

That was a lie. Angels usually weren't able to lie, but there was enough unholiness that had rubbed up onto him, that a tiny lie would be fine, and should go unnoticed by everyone.

Crowley just stared at Zira blankly, following his fingers moving, his words barely getting through to his ears as the heat rushed to his face with only the word dear and the...well.

"Well, angel, I've known you for eternities and..." He stopped himself before saying another word. "Bloody hell."

Instead of his wine glass he just took the whole bottle and gulped the content down in one go, sighing contently.

"You know, how about we talk about some fun things, hm? Like, uhhhh." A quick glance around the room he stopped at a large, leather bound book with golden letters on it. "Beethoven."

Taken aback by the things that happened in the short amount of time the smaller one sat there and followed Crowley's gaze until he had processed everything and turned his head back towards him. "Oh, if you'd want that, we could."

"Good, then, I mean, Beethoven. Ever listened to the music he did? Got some miracles with the keys. Didn't lose one. Wait, that isn't funny, fuck-"

Aziraphale studied the other with a few quick glances and noted the pink hue that dusted his cheeks, and the frantic movements. Surely he had drank too much and the alcohol was making him act this way, but for that they didn't have enough yet... Before he could stop himself his thoughts manifested themselves to words that went paired with a questioning look as he carefully put his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you feeling alright, Crowley?"

The one spoken to stopped dead in his tracks once he felt Zira's hand on his shoulder. "Huh?"

Quickly pulling his hand back to himself the angel gave him an apologetic smile, hoping he hadn't overstepped any boundaries with the simple act.

"How about we refrain from opening another bottle tonight. Seems like you aren't able to handle too much anymore. Usually you get this talkative only when you had too much to drink."

Zira reached over to grab the bottle Crowley was holding onto with a vice grip, almost placing his hand over his friend's as he waited for the other to let go.

At the surprise of their hands touching Crowley instantly yanked his hand away and let the bottle crash to the floor, shattering it into a hundred pieces. He was speechless for a moment as he just stared at Aziraphale, missing the warmth of his hand on his cold body, cursing himself, and the angel, for the situation in his head, though mostly himself really.

"The hell was that for?!"

His eyes were unfocused behind his black shades, though not due to alcohol, he wasn't near to drunk yet, it was rather due to a weird kind of haziness his mind was in.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."

There wasn't even a hint of anything other than the sincere tone he'd talk in if the angel felt like his friend wouldn't believe him otherwise. He really wasn't expecting this kind of reaction at all. Well, at least he could keep Crowley from drinking too much now, he supposed, and with a hand gesture the glass shards were gone like nothing had ever happened.

"I really must hold myself back from getting too close like this again, please tell me next time. I didn't quite know you'd react this badly to physical contact."

"No! That's not what I- I mean- Fuck, how can you be so dim witted and...and slow, you're supposed to be the smart one here, you know? Angels gotta outwitt the demon, it's like you've been saying every fucking single time when I...!"

The demon had jumped up and set one foot on the table to lean over to the angel in a kind of furious and desperate manner.

"Just...Gah!" He gripped at his hair and pulled at it as if he was fighting to get himself under control.

"I've been sitting in my house worrying over the sorry state you might be in, and that's all I'm gettin' coming all the way over here? Why are you always like this?"

His words were drenched in hurt and sharp like knives, the last question dragged in length as if he had trouble saying the words. Just what had he come here for anyway? Just what had he expected from the slow witted, incredibly gorgeous and good smelling angel in front of him?

"I... I don't think I understand what you mean. What were you expecting from me to give you to make it worth your stay? What do you want me to be like to make it not seem like you are wasting your time?"

Aziraphale didn't move even an inch. Badly had he wanted to reach out once more to give him comfort through physical contact, but he held back and kept his hands folded in his lap. This wasn't his intention. Never would he have wanted for his friend to react this way towards him, but he just didn't understand what he wanted, or needed. It was in his goodhearted nature to help whoever was in need of help, but Crowley was too much of a mystery, even after all those years. He still couldn't see what he was craving for in those moments.

Crowley snapped back the instant the words had left the other's mouth. It was like a destructive, calming wave had crashed into him, hiding the flames under a blanket of disappointment.

"No. Of course you don't. You've never gotten it."

He turned to look to the side, too ashamed to look at his friend with his head burning up. He was so goddamn angry, at everything. It was like everything he had wanted to say all those centuries had finally bubbled up enough to pop the lid off in a grand explosion, and that wasn't gonna be nice.

"Not even bloody once", he mumbled. He had backed off from the table by now, staring at the stacks of books, his arms dangling off his sides like dead weight.

It hurt the angel to be so helpless, confused and feeling like he kept making things worse the more time went by. "Crowley."

Now it was his turn to get up, his hand clenching and unclenching as he tried to find the right words to say, but nothing really came to mind. He was lost, caught between throwing all his doubts and morals away to give in on asking about everything that went on inside his head, about every little behaviour he picked up from the other, and letting him leave with the fear of him never returning. Sighing heavily he held his gaze fixated on the demon.

"Make it even more clear then. I want to help you. We are in this together, remember? Or is that now worth nothing anymore? Now that the end has been avoided, you are gonna still run off. Why didn't you leave before? Why did you come back? Tell me once and for all, what is it you want from me? I know you need something, but you won't say it out loud. Are you scared of something?"

"Is that coming from the guy who told me over and over and over and over that I never was his friend? That he didn't like me and wanted me gone? Is that really coming from you now that _I'm_ the one running away from this?"

Crowley gestured around the room in a helpless attempt to find confidence in himself under the warm, and calm, though dominant stare of the angel. Of that beautiful, beautiful angel he just wanted to confess to and be held in his arms and finally, finally get rid of his sorrows and fears. There was no need in him heating it further up. He felt the honesty In Zira's voice. He could feel the heavy atmosphere trying to push him to the ground and the air out of his lungs, that wiped the reason from his mind.

He was a demon, it wasn't his place to back down. Especially not to an angel. That was the destiny of their races.

"Are you seriously now telling me that _I_ am at fault here?"

His voice was higher pitched than wanted, a restless cry for help as he drowned in his own emotions. He wanted to cry, scream at the top of his lungs, let his bubbled up emotions and words stream out of him like a geysir, but that wasn't his style. He wasn't one to baby like a goddamn idiot, never in the hell ever.

"I know what I have said. I know that I had on countless occasions given up on the thought of THIS, to be here, to have US. Do you want to know why I did that? I was afraid this wasn't going to work, and I was always so close to backing out, but you know what? I didn't. Just like you didn't run off to a different galaxy. I have went against heaven because I believed that what you did was going to be the right thing, I trusted you even when every part of my being screamed for me not to. But it doesn't mean anything, does it? Do you want to hear me say that it is only _you_ to blame? That all _you_ did were mistakes? We both know that isn't true, and I know you hate to hear it, but you care about so much more than heaven and hell would about ever. You are clever. Every time I doubted you, you proved me wrong."

Aziraphale turned around so he didn't have to look at him anymore. Things needed to be said now before they were never said at all, because as far as he was guessing, Crowley was slipping away from him, possibly to return as if nothing had ever happened so he would never get the chance to say it again.

"We are both cowards, Crowley. I know there are still things that weren't said before, and I can feel you are struggling, no need denying it anymore. I'm sorry I'm being pushy because I care, maybe I should have just listened for once to Gabriel and learned how to only act under god's will. Maybe we wouldn't need this conversation then-"

"Shut up!" The demon had been half listening, half spacing out.

"You're always saying that! Because you're an angel, I assume." He said it mockingly, his whole body moving along to make the taunt as heavy as possible.

"After all this time, all this we went through, shit we went against heaven and hell with the antichrist! All you ever give me now is the same expression, the same words! It's like you're...i don‘t know, mocking me or- or making fun of me! Fuck, hate me, get angry at me, I don't know!"

Everything inside of him screamed and cried, tore at his insides, his stomach turning as if inside him was the biggest party ever thrown, and it made him want to puke. He was burning up, feeling like his brain was committing suicide to not have to look at himself anymore. "Stop looking down on me!"

"Why do you want that? Why do you want me to belittle you? And why are you assuming I am only looking down on you?"

Aziraphale looked over his shoulder to watch his expressions change as much as he could watch them. He himself didn't want to have this conversation at all, he didn't like to hear him talking like that. There were events in the past where he had pushed him past the point of willing to listen or control his temper, and Zira always felt guilty for it because he had caused it. Now wasn't any different

"Please just stop it OK? This is going nowhere"

The disappointment in the angel's voice hit like a thousand bricks, drying the spit in the demon's mouth and locking away the words burning through his throat. "Yeah."

It scared him how easily the words slipped out of himself, though they were grimy and unwanted. "I'll be leaving then."

No sarcastic comment, no funny sidemarks, no desperation or anger at Zira like the last time Aziraphale had told him to go. Just utter devastation and pure sorrow at the distrust he recieved from his best, and only, friend.

Nodding in agreement Aziraphale kept his back to him to hide the pained look on his face. The switch in the way his demon spoke was sending another pang of guilt through his body and straight to his soul.

"Yeah. It's better that you go now", was the only thing he said before gesturing over to the door to unlock it. It had become a sort of habit to keep it locked while Crowley was around in an attempt to make him feel safe enough to kick back and show his eyes every once in a while, which he would refuse to do a lot still.

Clenching his fists the demon exhaled sharply and stomped to the door. Before leaving he looked back once more to see only the back of his angel. There wasn't anything that could hurt him more right now. Had he hoped that Aziraphale would stop him? Ridiculous, Crowley's whole existence was a running joke.

"I guess it really wasn't meant to be", was the last thing he could press through his teeth before he hurriedly stomped out of the house, not bothering to close the doors, even if it would only take a click of his finger.

This was fine, it always turned out fine so far, so it would now as well, right? It wasn't worth it to get worked up over all of this, he only needed to keep his distance until the other would willingly come back to him when the time called for it. Shaking his head to rid himself of anything regarding how this could be the last time he'd see his friend, Aziraphale made his way towards the front of the shop to close the door without any magic, and to escape from the scent Crowley had left behind there.

For the demon himself not even driving in his favourite Bentley calmed him, or the Queen song that blasted through the speakers on repeat. While normally his driving style was more like 'fuck the world and yelling lyrics and flipping off other drivers', he didn't bother in the slightest, quietly drove through the streets. Where was he even going? Something to drink.

Yeah, that was gonna fix it. Fix the gaping hole in him, calm his racing heart. Yeah, as if.

He wasn't gonna lie to himself, but drinking ones sorrow away, that was what he had done for centuries. And centuries, and centuries and centuries. His Bentley came to an abrupt halt when he hit the breaks. The car behind him was honking and the tires squeaked painfully as they were forced to a stop. The driver leaned out the window and started yelling at him, but one click and his mouth was shut. Ruffling through his hair Crowley tugged at the messy clothes, scrunching his nose in anger at the faint scent of old books that had gotten stuck to his shirt and jacket. The pub in front of him was probably respectable, the only one in a few miles.

Grinding his teeth he slumped down into a chair at a free table.


	2. Drunken Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The vocabulary mistakes are intentional, just wanna say that

As soon as Crowley had entered the bar there were eyes that followed him to where he was taking a seat, and didn't make an effort to leave him alone. The guy that was staring didn't even try to hide it in any way, the alcohol he had consumed over the past hour helped greatly with stopping to care. Maybe, just maybe he could attempt to get him home with the help of a few drinks. Grinning as innocently he could to hide his intentions, he waved the bartender over to give him a bottle of something strong and two glasses before making his way over to him.

"Hey, you look like you had a rough day. Want to share some with me?", he asked, showing off the bottle.

The bottle was the thing that got Crowley's attention. Since he had only just entered he hadn't gotten the chance yet to order, so it was tempting him as the alcohol swirled around in the bottle ever so slightly.

"Ain't nothin' to talk about", he blocked off half-heartedly, not interested in talking, but cornered by the alcohol just in his reach.

He could already taste it on his dried out tongue, making his mind cloudy and words slick. Sighing to himself he pointed to the chair and greedily reached out for the glass, staring off into it's cool, polished innard.

Triumphant the man opened up the bottle and poured Crowley a generous amount of it in his glass before he took a seat on the offered chair.

"We don't have to talk, just thought you might need a little something to get your mind off of whatever it is that is bothering you."

It was going too easy so far, he hadn' even considered that he would be given a chance with liquor that fast, but it had worked. 'Must really be in need of it, my lucky day', he thought and filled his own glass all while shooting a few looks over into Crowley's direction.

"Too generous, eh?" Crowley snorted in amusement and downed the contents of the glass in one go, grimacing at the sudden burn in his throat and the bitter stinging.

Expectantly he shoved it back into the dude's face, staring off to the side, looking him up and down through the corner of his eye before he deemed him uninteresting and stared back at a mild discolouring in the wallpaper. Damn he had fucked up. So, so, so incredibly bad. Biting his lip he growled quietly and sunk together more, every muscle of his being strained to the hardest of extent.

His brain had committed suicide alright, he couldn't piece together one single flimsy thought, just little broken pieces of the angel loose in a tornado of blaming himself.

"Depends on how you see it."

The dude was up immediately to pour him another one before just pushing the bottle his way so he could help himself out when he needed more. Simply leaning back he held his own drink and didn't really drink at all, too busy making up plans in his head how to react to different things that could come as threats to make him piss off and lose his chances. For a start, for conversation it seemed too early so watching and providing drinks would be fine by him for now.

Only indescribable grumbling came as an answer from the demon, mixed with the gnashing of teeth as he took up the glass and downed the alcohol, not bothering for a refill to rather grab for the bottle and start drinking straight from it. He had to fix himself, fix everything.

He already had basically a whole bottle of wine flowing through his veins so the alcohol just needed a bit more time of him staring at the wall before he could feel it affecting him. He got drowsy and dizzy, a black hole swallowing up the tornado and leaving the spot empty, a growing, all swallowing emptiness. He snitched and felt his eyes growing glossy with tears he could not shed.

For a while he just tapped against the glass bottle until he had emptied it before he shoved it into the middle of the table demonstratively, finally looking at the dude again.

It was impressive, never in his life had the guy seen someone that could down an entire bottle of liquor in practically one go and still look somewhat calm on the outside. Now looked like the perfect time to test his luck if he could get under this guy‘s skin.

"Damn."

His eyes switched between the bottle and back to the demon's face. "Need another one? Life doesn't seem like its too kind to you if you go at it like that. What happened?"

Crowley nodded at the question to get a second one. While he searched for the right words to say, something just snapped inside him and he leaned down onto the table, gripping the bottle with both hands to spin it around and read the etiquette, as far as reading went well for him. "I'm just-" His lower lip started trembling as if he was about to burst into tears before he continued.

"I'm an absolute, utter jerk! I ruined our friendsssship! How ‘m I even goin‘ to face him now after saying all that? I'm utter trash, I belonnn to be buried six feet under as the goddamn demon I am. I don't deserve to look at angel's face evrrr again, he's just beyond me, he's just too good, you know? Too good."

With those words he stopped spinning the bottle and looked at it with pursed lips as if he was ready to kiss it as a substitute for Aziraphale. "He's just too good…"

At the request of wanting more the guy vaguely waved for an employee of the bar to bring over another bottle.

"I see... Been there too. Maybe I haven't fallen as hard for them as you have fallen for that friend of yours though.“

He grabbed the bottle that was brought over to them and handed it over like before. "Women and men are both the same when it comes to love. They are both just as complicated."

Perfect, absolutely perfect! Dealing with heartbroken people was so much easier, and with someone who gulped down alcohol like it was water, it was almost impossible for him to fuck up at this point.

As if he had taken a liking to the empty bottle Crowley just looked at the full one once, pouted and tried to snap his fingers, taking a few tries to get it right. But once he had, the liquor had moved from the full to the formerly empty bottle which Crowley now cradled and pushed his cheek against.

"He's just so good. So good..." Taking a big sip from it he went back to staring into the clear liquid for a moment before he looked straight into the dude's eyes.

"Ever tried to date an angel?"

It took him a while to process what he had seen, but even after taking a solid five minutes to try and understand it, the guy couldn't come to a reasonable explanation. What had brought him out of his thoughts and away from the bottle was the question.

"Oh, well, of course I have. A lovely lady, but it wasn't meant to be."

He took a sip from his drink that he had forgotten was still almost all the way full. "Got drawn in by her looks just to be left with nothing but an empty bed. Just like that she was gone as soon as she was there."

"Yeahhhh." The demon was swooning over the bottle, taking frequent sips.

"Even if he's about to be killed he's just like- thhhrowing himself inno it. Had to save him from german officers durin' second world war. He was about to throw his liffff-", he got caught on the f and needed a moment to continue. "Life away. He always gets into trouble, like as he got caught by the french army and was supposed to be ssssentensed for death."

As if he was talking to someone else from that time he turned around and started yelling with his fist up. "He wouldn't ever do anything you bloody idiots!"

Turning around he stared at the dude a little strangely before the excitement left him. "He's just always going on, and on, and on, and on about heaven, and how it's gonna be salvation, and how it's all good and he...he doesn't ever tell me 'bout himself. Won't let me near him atall!"

A bitter laugh escaped him.

"He would keep tellin' me that I wasnnnn't his friend 'n that I was a bad person. For centuries now."

Crowley threw his hands over his head, his forehead against the cool bottle. "It just feels so stupid, I'm so stupid...cannnn even talk to him prerly."

"O-ok?" The guy wasn't quite sure how to respond to these ramblings. How would anyone react if they were told that the one they talked to was rambling about things that happened almost a hundred years ago? 'Probably just drunken ramblings', was the first assumption. Would make sense why he was acting how he was acting. He took his time to think of a sensible thing to say to these ramblings.

"Maybe you should try and get him off your mind for tonight? I know it's hard, but I'm willing to provide anything you need for it. See it as a..", he made a wild gesture with his hand. "Friendly gesture because you seem like you are in high need of it."

"Eh?" The demon looked up a little confused at first, tugging at his clothes, looking himself down. "I ain't good though. You wouldn't like it." He trailed off to the side, tugging at his tie. "I mean, if you've been with an angel, you wouldnnn wanna get dirty."

"Ain't it fun to get a bit dirty every once in a while? Angels are mostly the dirtiest ones, from what I can tell", the guy smirked and reached over to him, cupping his face to make him look back at him. "If you'd let me help you..."

With a swift movement his hands slid up to remove the glasses. His smirk dropped as fast as it was there and his hands were off of him in an instant as he saw his eyes. "Wha- what happened to your eyes?" It was more out of shock at first, but the questions and things he had seen him do before turned the shock around into fear.

"What are you?! I... I got to go. This is getting too weird for me." With that he stood up and backed away a few steps while keeping his eyes on the demon before he paid and simply ran off to another bar to be away from there.

Just a little affection, just a tiny bit as he had bent forward, it had sent thousands of little shock waves through Crowley's brain. The hand was wrong, but at least it was a hand. He hadn't really indulged himself in something with someone else for a long time, only very scarce. So just the tiniest bit...

The sudden yell of the other snapped him back, groggily searching for the glasses on his nose which he couldn't find. Confused his pupils narrowed further into a small slit. Taken aback he couldn't do much but just let the man wad off, left in a room with eyes all on him and a half full bottle of liquor. Well, at least it was paid for.

"Hey, wwwait-"

His mouth felt dry and numb as he stumbled upwards and to the door, the bottle in a vice grip, his sunglasses in the other hand while he desperately tried to put them on, which was harder than expected while seeing double. But once he finally got out the man was gone, just gone like with a miracle. One snap, really, all it takes for someone to disappear. Someone to disappear.

God, why did everything always just disappear on him.

Suddenly his stomach just took a spin and he had to lean against the wall, puking straight down, which was probably not good since it made him just more dizzy and sick to the stomach. That was one way to get the toxins out, the first time he had done it that way around. Wiping the puke from his chin he made a disgusted noise and stumbled farther, pouring the booze down his throat like it was gonna cleanse him out or something.

Instead it just made him cough and hack and spit out as he choked on it. But the tingly feeling, the electrones running through his brain and right down to where he had neglected himself for far too long... Frantically wiping at his chin he kept walking, or stumbling, keeping himself stabilized on the housewalls.

He needed someone right now, just, anyone to make him feel like Zira was with him. If that guy wasn't gonna do it...he looked up to see a small little brothel, dirty and run down how basically every single one looked, in the basement, as always, with neon flickering signs indicating that it was even there.

He only now tried to walk again without stabilization, but stopped before he walked down the stairs. He couldn't take another disappointment today and those eyes, those damn eyes were in the way. Cursing he clawed at his cheek before sighing and snapping, his hair immediately growing longer and longer until it reached his shoulders. Just something to cover it with, in case. Just in case.


	3. Desperate Attention

Inside everything looked more like it wasn't just a simple cellar in some random building. The easiest thing to notice, was the almost overwhelming lighting that was going from different shades of red to different shades of dark blue, that were paired with the thinnest layer of smoke. The second thing was the deafening loud music that played to make the dancers on stage even more appealing to anyone that wasn't already occupied with a woman, or man, on one of the many couches around the stages, or anyone that wasn't dragged into one of the backrooms.

As soon as Crowley had entered there was a young woman seemingly already waiting for him. Smiling seductively she swiped her hand over his chest but refrained from giving in to more contact just yet.

"Hey there, need anything I could get for you?"

Crowley needed a moment to register that she was there, the club's warmth adding the diziness and making his stomach turn again. He swallowed hard to keep himself from choking up and groggily pushed his sunglasses up, ruffling through his hair to kind of have it fall over the eye she was closest to. The bottle in his hand was sticky and stuck to his hand while he swirled it around a little as if in distraction.

"Jusss need to use the bathroom", he muttered, trying to sound as sober as he could.

Wiping her hand from his chest he quickly walked to the bathroom and stabilized himself on the sink, coughing up dry spit and washing it down with sink water. He felt uncomfortable here, though it was a place fit for a demon. It just didn't sit right with him. Not with the angel.

The angel...

He swooned for a short while before he set the bottle down and slapped himself hard, trying to get some sense back into himself. Looking at himself he snapped once to change his clothes into a long, simple, dark blueish dress, and snapped a second time to get a handbag. Out of it he took a cherry red lipstick and pursed his lips, trying to get it on without smearing too much. As he was about halfway satisfied with it he ruffled through his hair once more to get it to sit right, and straightened up.

No thinking about Zira. No thinking about him. This was to have fun. Aziraphale wasn't waiting for him anyway and especially not for such needs. He was just a friend, had been a friend.

Frustrated he chewed on the inside his cheek and walked out, not bothering the confused stares he had gotten from the guy and girl who were doing it in the corner of the room.

No one besides the staff really cared too much about who was walking around the place, their customers wouldn't even take a second to bother to waste their time with watching someone other than the ones that provided service. So if you didn't get too close to anyone, they were most likely to pretend you weren't there in the first place. The young ladies and men that weren't occupied with getting as much money out of anyone that was willing to pay more than necessary, were all pretty much ganged up somewhere in a corner, waiting to take every chance they could get when someone was staring for too long, or came over to pick them up themselves.

Now for a victim for the demon. Had been a while since he had actually tempted someone, aside from Zira he guessed. Fitting for a serpent as he was, double tongued, slit eyed and full of lies. He had stopped pretty much completely after the war had been won, not much reason to. Just small things, small little biddings he'd make someone do, or encourage them to tell a lie, or stray further from their home, or maybe backstab someone, in a lyrical sense.

He hadn't ever been the type to start something grand like the execution of god's son, or the second world war. Geez, the thousands of beheaded people during the french revolution had been just a nuisance to him. He wasn't gonna start on it now, but not that he was good either.

He flicked his tongue as if to evaporate his merry-go-round like race of thoughts, and looked around the room until he had found someone he liked. The guy who came into question was leaning against the wall, smoking and watching a girl on stage twirl around the pole in heels. What she could he could. In his state a bad idea, but he snapped his fingers and switched his shoes for heels.

He was feeling nauseous and needed a moment to not lose footing before he could move forward. The alcohol in his system made him stagger, but he tried his best to stay upright, rocking his hips with his steps like he always did, a pouty look on his face to hide what he was screaming at himself: 'If Aziraphale were to see you, he'd be so disappointed.'

"Hey, darling."

The guy almost didn't bother to pay any attention to the fact he was being talked to. Almost. He was just getting ready to turn to the, what felt like, 10th bitch that came up to him to seduce him into paying too much for nothing, but the words never left him. This wasn't just a petty bitch in some skimpy outfit.

"What? Do you need something? You don't look like you are working here."

He checked him out with a few glances before he settled to hear out what he had to say while continuing to watch the girl dancing around the pole.

"Might be, might be not." Crowley shrugged, trying to hide his pained expression at the sudden headache with leaning against the wall next to him and playing with his hair to try and hide his face behind it without looking too much like he was at pain. He exhaled deeply, twirling a hair strand around his finger before he turned to look over at the guy.

"Got one for me?", he pointed to the cigarette, his legs crossed so that the slit at the side of the dress slipped up a little, his face not yet showing any seductive tone to it.

The man thought about it for a minute before he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes to hand them over. "Here." The only reason he allowed him to stay was because he didn't push up onto him and hump his leg like all the deranged whores so far.

"If you work here then you have a rather interesting way of approaching people to fuck you."

"Jusss been around long enough." The demon took the pack and slid out one cigarette, turning it in his hand for a while before he put it in his mouth. "Light?"

Grumbling something under his breath the man pulled out a lighter and lit the cigarette for him. "Makes sense to me, but tell me, what do you actually want? I doubt you wanted to just have a smoke in a place like this."

Crowley took a deep drag and blew a smokecircle into the air, watching it vanish before he started talking. "You really gonna ask that?"

He moved around to face him head on and tilted his head to the side a little, a mocking expression on his face. Moving in closer he stared at him, their cigarettes touching. "Or what are you here for?"

The demon reeked of booze and a faint cherry of the lipstick, a soft smell of washing powder from his clothes mixed in. Over it all hung the scent of cigarettes and something that smelt a little like burning fire from Crowley, the stench of cum and sweat from the brothel aside.

"You got me there but..."

Snaking his hand down Crowley's side the man glanced down to watch it glide along the smooth fabric of the dress until he let his hand rest on his hip and went to rather stare into his eyes with the best to his abilities, not mentioning how weird they looked since he believed it was just the lighting playing tricks on him after watching the flashing on the stage for too long

"I'm sure you have a price too. So what's the catch here?".

Crowley shrugged, the hand sending shivers down his spine, though he wasn't sure if those shivers were a good sign. As another wave of dizziness hit him, he fell forward against the man, pushing up against his chest, back arched a little.

"Pay me half the price of what you normally pay and start doin' ssssomethin'", he hissed into his ear, taking a drag of the cigarette to mockingly blow it against his ear, licking along it, his breathing hot and heavy mixed in with the smoke.

"Oh? Now I'm sure you aren't working here and are just in it for the fun."

The man took his cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it on the ground to stomp it out when the other fell against him to not burn him on accident. "But I'm all in for it." Not even a second later his hands were all over Crowley's side and thighs, slightly dipping under the dress, but not too far up just yet.

A yelp escaped Crowley at the cold hand against his flesh at which he pushed himself further into the others shoulder. He felt like shit. His legs were weak and barely holding him up, his mind was in scrambles and he wanted to puke at the hand giving him pleasure already without even really touching him. His mind was giving off alarm noises, which he couldn't shut off.

His whole being screamed about it that this was the wrong person, the wrong way to do it and that Zira wasn't gonna be happy with it, but it was already too late for him to back out of it now. If he'd just concentrate hard enough...He weakly gripped onto the dude's back, his hands slipping a few times from seeing double, being unable to place his hands where he wanted them.

Why would there be a reason for the man to hold back now? There wasn't any. He was given the 'go' to do as he wanted to with this drunken mess of a slut. Since Crowley was shaking against him and stumbling even with the support he was already providing for him to keep standing up, he reached around to grab his ass and lifted him up, carrying him over to an empty sofa a bit further away from the action. Taking a seat he simply held Crowley on his lap and resumed to what he was doing before.

While carried the demon's whole world was spinning and he had to breathe deeply to not throw up the instant. It was a little better once he was seated though. Since they had slipped off a little he groggily pushed his sunglasses back up, his hair hanging messily into his face.

"Come onnnnn."

He took a sloppy hold of the others hands and moved them over his body a little rougher as he bit his lip in concentration, slightly rocking his hips in a try to get the other to hurry it up. He was burning all over from guilt, shame and pleasure, and really just wanted to make him lose his mind already. With his eyes closed he could even imagine that it was Zira in front of him.

Raising a brow at the impatience the man stilled his hands to pinch Crowley's sides. "Needy and only looking out for yourself? Tsk, that shouldn't even be worth half the money you'd have to pay to fuck the bitches here."

With a growl he leaned close to his neck and bit down hard on it to leave a mark. Wasn't his problem how he'd look like after they were done anyways. Somewhat following the request though he pressed him down harder onto his lap and shoved his hands under that dress, pulling it up in the process. When he pulled away from him to kick back and watch while he was going crazy on him, he gave a quiet laugh.

"If you wouldn't have been so easy and cheap to get, I would have been mad that you were walking around like that and pretend like you are the hottest bitch in town, when you are just giving false advertisement."

The insults and pain made Crowley snap out of his hazy dreamland and face back to reality. Opening his eyes he gritted his teeth and forced a smirk, leaning forward, the cigarette crumpling under the grinding of his teeth. "Ain't that just meanin' that you're thinkinnnn that i'm hot?"

He let go of his hands and moved them up to his hair to sloppily tuck it behind his ear. His hips were helplessly bucking into the other's hands though he was trying to keep himself under control for various reasons. "I'mmmm gonna show you what hottest bitch means."

His grin kept twitching as he moved his hands over to the others body, sliding them over his neck to the sides of his head where he cupped it with a pretty vice grip, considering the state of drunk he was in, forcing him to look up. Spitting out his cigarette onto the ground he quickly forced his lips onto the other's, blowing the pent up smoke out.

'Just what that slut needed to get going', the man thought and let it happen, kissing him back with the same amount of vigor that Crowley was going at it with. This was more like what he had expected out of this little deal.

To reward the drunken mess on his lap he roughly jerked his hips up to grind into him, keeping his hands on his thighs for now. If he could just find more to talk shit about him, he believed there was no way he couldn't get him to be so desperate to show who is boss, that he'd do everything for him.

A moan escaped Crowley and he jerked his head upwards, biting his tongue in the process which resulted in a quiet howl of pain, at the sudden pleasure. Ashamed and furious he gripped onto his dress, sliding his hands down his body, rocking it into the rythm. He let his mouth hang open to kind of bear with the pain as he pushed up onto the other, finally sliding his hands over to the man once more, tugging at his pants to hook his fingers behind the waistband, teasingly slithering his hands down. He was disgusted, furious and disgusted, faked it behind a determined grin, twitching in pain.

The hands all over the man's body weren‘t half bad. They were demanding and desperately fumbling with the fabric of his clothes, just like he had suspected the whole ordeal to go. Getting an idea on how to rile the other up even further, he hooked up the dress to throw it aside a bit and get an even better look at the body on display for him.

"Look at you. You try to act like you are so tough, but it's just an act. I can clearly see through it. Have been hurt and now you search for someone to fill the void, hm? You are so sad, I have never seen someone as sad a person as you. You should be happy someone picked trash like you up to give in to your pitiful request of getting fucked. The clothes are also just an act, aren't they? You couldn't find a man to love you as you were, so you try it like that. So disgusting and pathetic."

Gritting his teeth Crowley's grip on the other's trousers grew stronger at the words. He desperately fumbled with the button, opening it after a few tries to immediately push his hands down and down the others boxers. He wanted to back out so hard, just walk back to Zira and apologize, like he had always done. Everything would be fine.

Biting his lips he got the lipstick on his teeth. Tasted like cherry and chemicals. Nothing was gonna be fine, absolutely nothing. He breathed heavily and slipped down off his lap and onto his knees, pushing his head down the moment he had freed the guy's dick, hastily putting it in. Whatever he had thought this would get him, it got him nowhere, basically just somewhere worse than hell.

Whimpering he circled him with his tongue and pushed down further, gagging as he had to widen his throat while he was already feeling like throwing up again. The air against his exposed body felt sharp and pierced him like icy needles, though it was nowhere near being cold.

Immediately the man's hand shot up to grab a fistfull of the demon's hair to keep him in place as well as to show that he was the one in control here. He kept him pressed down for a short while, just to feel his throat tighten around his dick when Crowley had to swallow to not be drooling all over the place, only then he allowed himself to pull the horny demon off of him.

Although there wasn't a single cell in his body that cared about how the other was holding up, other than making sure he'd get his satisfaction out of it, he kept him off for a short moment longer to maybe pull a small complaint out of him. Maybe another little push would do it to get him to talk...?

"Got nothing to say? Probably hit the nail on the head with it. You think the exact same about it."

Crowley was coughing and gasping for air, his mouth feeling dry. "Sssshut up", was the only thing he could press through his teeth in his attempt at not breaking down. The hand pulling at his hair had him in a strong grip, so even if he wanted to go back on finishing this quicker, he was only kept upright by the other's mercy, his dress' strap hanging loosely down his shoulder, revealing more of his chest than he wanted it to right now.

His hands were cramped and clawed into the man's trousers in an attempt to not lose himself while he struggled ever so slightly against the grip, his eyes teary and glossy behind his glasses that were gradually slipping off his nose. Lucky for him that his hair was all over in his face, so even if his glasses would slip further, his eyes weren't too obvious.

"Can't even be honest with yourself", the man hummed satisfied as if he had gotten the answer he wanted to hear. Although he was quite enjoying the poor thing falling apart in his hands, he felt merciful and shoved his face back down so he could continue sucking him off.  
"If you aren't gonna talk, at least make it enjoyable. Suck me off real good and I might even take you back to my place to fuck the last bit of smugness out of you."

With that he let go of his hair to fetch himself a new cigarette to smoke as he watched him.

"Nmpf!" Crowley's complaint was muffled as he was pushed back onto the guy's dick. His hands slipped, and that he had no support whatsoever anymore aside from his wobbly legs, made him lose all balance and fall to the side. As a reaction he accidentally bit on the man's dick , just barely catching himself by gripping hard into the man's leg, a surprised whimper leaving him as he quickly let go the moment he realized what he had done.

"AH! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

With one quick pull of his hair Crowley was off of him and he threw him aside, hissing in pain.

"CAN'T YOU BE FUCKING CAREFUL?! YOU CANT EVEN SUCK DICK WITHOUT FAILING! NO WONDER YOU ARE SO CHEAP!"

Furiously wiping the ash that fell off the cigarette, that he had spit out as he was yelling, off of him, he glared daggers down on Crowley. As much as he would have wanted to storm off he got a different idea on how to make him pay. Wordless the guy grabbed Crowley by the collar of his dress and pulled him roughly on the couch.

"Guess I have to teach you a little lesson on what happens if you pull little stunts like that on me."

In a swift movement he made him stick his ass up and positioned himself behind him, all the while almost ripping his underwear off in his fury. Without any more warnings he grabbed his ass to spread his cheeks, spat on his hole to make it easier on himself, and, despite the resistance, forced his dick into him.

A scream of pain bubbled up in the demon's chest and was only halfway repressed by Crowley deliberately biting his tongue for it. It hurt like hell. No pleasure, just pure force that ripped right through him, ripping at his insides. It felt like someone had stuck a harpoon inside him and was gradually pulling it out with the barb being stuck in his flesh. It felt like he was ripped apart and burnt alive, thousand needles injected right into his skin.

A little blood pooled in his mouth and he had to swallow it down, every little bit of the pleasure from before eradicated in an instant. He was rearing up, his back arched in a painful way, his fingers like claws digging into the couch, tearing at it. Pained groans and squeels bubbled up from behind his gritted teeth, his vision blurry from the tears, his mind ablaze with thunder and lightning, alarms going off inside him everywhere, doubled when he felt himself tearing and something warm leaking out, considering the pain, most likely blood.

Those pained noises shouldn't be such a turn on, but they were beyond anything that the man had ever considered erotic. He wanted more of them, NEEDED more of them. Something about this whole ordeal was so different than anything he had had before, and it was working wonders. It made him want to claim, bring pain and destroy all together. Following his instincts he went at it like his life depended on it, forcefully shoving Crowley against himself each time he went to slam into him over, and over, and over.

"You suck on your knees, but damn, this makes up for it! Tonight we'll have lots of fun, dear! You'll love it!"

"Ngh-" Crowley was trying his best to form coherent words, but failed ultimately when the other one slammed into him so hard that his head fell back and his vision turned from blurry to black. Desperately fighting for his eyesight he somehow got his hands loose and touched his face, trying somehow to force his eyes open. But instead he found something that made his heart sink even more, if that was even possible.

He was violently rocked into the couch, slammed into with absolutely no mercy, and it hurt, oh god it hurt. But something just made it all seem dim.

"No....n-gah- _no!_ "

He was clawing at his face, desperately pressing his palms against his eyes. He had lost his sunglasses probably sometime around when he had been moved around violently.

"Glassesssss _please_!", he screamed out, eyes pressed shut, blindly reaching into the direction of where he was so brutally used.

Only at the unusual plead the man slowed down, not by a lot, but instead of going at a brutal pace he gave him sharp and angled thrusts.

"Glasses?" Cocking his head to the side he eyed him clawing at his face and desperately crying as he covered his eyes. Scanning their surroundings it wasn't hard to find the glasses lying next to the couch, the glass showing small cracks that must have formed when he had slammed him down, or so he guessed.

Reaching down he picked them up and held them just far enough away so the demon couldn't get them before he spoke up. "You mean these? Why would you need them? I doubt there is much you can hide with these anyways."

" _Pleasssse_!" Crowley tried to grab them but only caught air, his eyes still pressed shut, one hand pressing against his eyeballs hard enough that you'd fear he'd push them right up his skull.

"Anything! Please! Glassegh-" While speaking he choked on his spit, coughing and breaking off into strangled noises of pain. The slower pace only made it worse for him, a slower dragging out of rubbing against his wounds and the sensitive, strained muscles.

"You really want them? Maybe if you‘re gonna be a good little bitch for me I'll give them to you. But first...Put some fucking work into it!"

Keeping a vice grip on the glasses the man adjusted his grip on the demon and went back to the merciless slamming from only a few seconds ago. "Look at me! Look at who owns you!"

This was incredible! Why was he feeling so powerful? Why did he want to use this newfound power to break everything that was so easy to break like his little toy? Alone the thought of what else he could do to get Crowley to submit to him made him groan.

Shaking his head violently Crowley clawed at the air once more before he let his hand drop back onto the couch to tear at it. He couldn't look, he couldn't show those eyes of him. He didn't want it to hurt anymore, and he didn't know either if the words or the actions were worse for him in that moment.

"Pleasssse, _I beg you_ ", he whimpered, one eye finally opened slightly behind his hand, the fingers giving just enough of an opening that he could see the cruel face he was given.

This wasn't enough. The man could only see him peeking through his fingers, and it wasn't doing it for him. "You want these don't you? Then do as I say or else-!"

To demonstrate what he was going to do otherwise he held the glasses up and tightened his grip on them, cracking the glass further with an audible noise. He didn't want to play around anymore. He wanted action, wanted to see him cry and scream in either pain or pleasure, and he knew he could get it if he wanted it.

" _NO!_ " Instinctively the demon's hand moved from shielding his eyes to trying to grab the glasses. If those were to break, just what should he do? In his state, there was no thinking about how easy it was to just miracle himself new ones. Only a flood of despair washing over him as he stared at the guy, eyes wide open in fright.

There was terror, grief and fear in those eyes. He had felt it all too well before, but actually seeing it was so much better. Overwhelmed by the signals a simple look thrown his way gave him, it took him some time to register what those eyes looked like. There was time to ask questions later to why they were the way they were, but that wasn't important now.

It was unlike anything he had ever got to witness and it felt great. The sweet mixture of all those feelings that radiated off of Crowley, and the way that he tightened up around him as another wave of pain hit him, was addicting. Unfortunately it got him so riled up that all he thought about was to come all over that pretty, frightened face, or fill him up to a point were there was no way he could fit in more.

Only as the other‘s expression changed into something even more vicious Crowley realized that he had let his guard down. " _Don't-_ _donlook_..."

He tried to look elsewhere, press his eyes shut again, but the extreme pain, that all too quickly seemed to spring into reality again, kept him from it. So his eyes just twitched from one object to look at to the other in an attempt to keep his focus away from them, and not have to look at him either.

Crowley could feel how the other one slammed in even deeper now, his dick twitching inside of him which felt in just the slightest way good again, if you ignored the numbing pain. He didn't want his cum anywhere even near him, but he couldn't speak, and so just clawed back into his cheeks, leaving deep, dark red scratch marks just underneath his eyes which focused on the part now, where the guy's dick was slammed deep inside him, twitching behind a veil of tears as if to show him losing consciousness any time.

The guy was too busy staring him down to care what would happen to him after they were done, and if he'd black out, so be it. Gritting his teeth he put all his strength behind his thrusting to finish himself off, the hand that wasn't holding onto his glasses shooting up to grab at the demon's throat to choke him, purely for the sake of enjoying to see him suffer more.

Crowley threw his head back, a voiceless scream slipping out of his wide opened mouth as he felt his air cut off. His eyes rolled back into his head for a second as if to focus on something before they returned to just stare blankly at the ceiling.

After a few more bucks of his hips the man buried himself deep inside him, filling him up with his seed. Giving off a breathy laugh he leaned in close to Crowley with a twisted, yet satisfied grin. "Wasn't so bad to take your punishment, was it? Now that you have learned to behave, I can take you home, and we can let the real fun begin there."

The demon's lower half was numb from the pain and felt heavy, him just barely feeling the other's cum deep inside him, way too deep. He wanted to claw it out of himself, but he couldn't loosen his twitchy fingers from the couch, couldn't move an inch to get himself out of the situation. How was he even supposed to follow him like this? If he could even walk.

He choked violently, rearing up, one hand shooting up to cover his mouth which he turned, breathing heavily as he felt his stomach spinning again.


	4. Cry For Help

After he got bored of only staring down at him to capture the tiny twitches of pain, the man finally let go of him and pulled out. He'd be so kind and allow Crowley to stay down to catch his breath so he didn't have to bother worrying about getting him in a state of mind that'd make sure he was aware of everything. Tucking himself away he got to his feet to pop his back, giving the shaking demon side glances as if to make it clear that each and every move would be watched, as well as punished, if he misbehaved.

The demon somehow twisted his body to the side, pulling himself to the edge of the sofa, his head hanging off it in an attempt to not sully himself. All he could choke up was a bit of spit and dry coughs though, his throat achey and sore. He could feel the cum leaking out of himself, slowly, dripping.

This wasn't how it had been supposed to go. His lipstick was by now smeared onto his chin and the palms of his hands, his hair hung over his eyes in a sweaty mess, sticking to his forehead and neck. His legs got tangled in the dress as he tried to stand up and he nearly fell, clutching into the fabric. Crowley looked up pleadingly at to where he thought the guy stood, his vision blurred and obscured, his mouth trying to form a 'please', but the frightened shivers making it incomprehensible.

Aw, the poor little thing needed his help, how cute. Not even the tiniest bit of regret or pity was what the man had felt towards him before, and he wouldn't start now. The only reason why he decided it was a good idea to put the glasses back on him and help him up was, because he didn't want anyone to question what had gone down mere seconds ago. It was his responsibility to take care of his newest possession for the night, and if anyone was going to ask why he looked so weak it would be shameful to him, since that would mean he couldn't make his bitch behave and act normal.

"We are leaving. You better not have forgotten how to walk, 'cause I sure as hell won't carry you."

Once he had his glasses back, a little bit of a safe feeling returned for Crowley, grabbing them to push them up as far as he could, fingers twitching and nearly slipping of the glass. With his free hand he clutched to the man, his legs all wobbly, not really holding him up worth shit. The heels didn't really help in making that better. His legs felt numb and whenever he tried to move them a sharp pain came shooting up from his ass.

Since he was standing nothing held back the cum anymore from leaking out and running down his legs. He had no clue how the hell he was supposed to even take one step, frozen to the ground, breathing heavily, not sure if that came from the pain, the dizziness, or his fear.

Groaning in annoyance that it even took him so long to stand, or rather, do something that could resemble standing, the man wrapped his arm around the demon's waist to give him more stability. "Take off those heels if they'll only make you take longer to get ready to leave." He drummed his fingers on his waist, the other arm hanging loosely at his side in case he needed to be quick to catch him if he'd trip.

Crowley would have felt grateful for the help he got, if it wasn't for the purpose he knew was behind it. Biting his lip he nonetheless pushed up closer to him to seek better support. With a wriggle of his fingers the heels were gone and he was barefoot, stumbling at the sudden change of footing. Once the heels were gone though he started walking ever so carefully, dragging his feet over the ground, every single movement a fight against himself.

"There you go. All better."

He didn't question what had just happened to his heels, he was only happy that he could leave finally. It was slow and only a few steps at a time, but it was a start. If he were to get impatient enough to drag him along, so be it. After what felt like an hour they were finally out of the brothel and out on the street. Almost immediately as the cool air of the night hit him, the man let out a pleased sigh.

Was this how Jesus had felt when carrying the cross through the crowd of people? Beaten up, with a crown of thornes and only a piece of fabric to shield his crotch from the eyes of the crowd.

Crowley wasn't far off from the situation, only the cross was missing on his back. But he was basically naked, not even wearing boxers anymore, only a messy dress that had slipped up too far, and his sunglasses which were cracked and which glass splintered off in little pieces. His feet were definitely bruised too from dragging them over the sidewalk. Only his crown of roses wasn't on his head, but rather felt like it had been stuffed up his ass.

Sounded funnier than it was for him, especially not in the situation he was in and considering the extreme pain. His gaze was fixed on the ground, not wanting at all to see anyone see him like this, especially not the one beside him.

Unfortunately, the wish of not being seen dragged along the sidewalk, only barely holding it together, was not coming true for him. Not today. As if god herself had made up fate to be this way, Aziraphale was just on the other side of the street to enjoy the new cafe that had opened there a few weeks prior, but for which he hadn't yet had the chance to visit.

It would have gone fine and dandy, if he wouldn't have happened to sense the presence of his demon and thus looked around to try and spot him. Almost he hadn't recognized him with the clothes he wore. If it wasn´t for the unique scent that wafted off of him, and fiery red hair he came to love so much, he could have simply mistaken him for someone else.

Happily he would have called him over, but the words never came out when he noticed that the guy walking next to him wasn't someone coincidentally walking beside him, but rather someone holding onto his beloved's waist to walk side by side with him. Only the thought of Crowley walking around London with someone holding him in his arms and being happy with them, left the angel feeling a stinging in his soul. There wasn´t any bit of happiness in him on seeing the scene unfold like that.

It was a feeling he had only felt once for a brief moment, and if he had to describe it, it was as if someone had pushed him into hellfire, but he couldn´t die from it, he could only feel the pain.

He cursed himself mentally. Who was he to deny this to his dearest friend? If it made him happy, he´d be happy, but he knew it deep down that it was a lie. A big, fat lie he could tell himself over and over until he´d start believing it himself.

His original plan of coming here for a sweet treat to get his mind away from what had happened earlier that night was thrown out the window now. Even if he wanted to, he couldn´t force himself to do anything but stare and feel worse and worse about it. What was making it EVEN worse was, that he didn't only feel bad about the fact that he, an angel, a being of love, was pulling the supposed couple apart in his mind, it was also a sense of jealousy that had his heart throbbing painfully.

It was a sin!

He shouldn't be sinning, and especially not for a demon of all things. Ever since Crowley had crossed his path he had gone through all the stages of wanting and needing his love, and searching for things to suppress it. Now it was starting all over again. So lost with him fighting with his own mind he forgot that he could feel love when he was around him, but there was none now, it was rather the opposite of it.

The feelings coming from Crowley were anything but what you'd think. There wasn't even a hint of anything pleasant going on inside him. In fact, all the confusing and unpleasant thoughts in himself left Aziraphale to believe, that those were merely his own emotions overcoming him and drowning out the warmth of love.

When Crowley felt something familiar he stumbled and stopped, face to the ground. He could taste something, feel it in the air, a familiar aura he knew all too well. Frantically he looked around himself, hard enough while being blue and panicking. His eyes finally stopped at a cafe, eyes widening. His glasses cracked and a major piece broke out, revealing part of his eye.

This had to be a joke.

A desperate grin tried to steal it's way on his face, but instead his mouth corners dropped and his hand, that had been clutched onto the man, dug it's way deep inside him. Cruel joke on him, real cruel. Even worse than when he had been kicked out of heaven. That meant something. Why had his angel have to be here, see him like this?

Despite the fact that the angel's mind was all over the place, thinking about everything that was wrong about his thoughts and that Crowley was hiding behind his shades like alwaysm he could feel something shift in the emotions he was picking up when he looked over to him. It felt like shame and panic, but why? Why would he feel something like that along him?

Was there ever any too obvious indication on his side on how he despised the thought of the demon seeing anyone that got too friendly with him? Would he maybe think that he would hate him for it? Gritting his teeth Aziraphale put up his best natural expression and got up to leave as fast as he could, without it looking too rushed, allowing himself one last glance at his friend, before he couldn't bare to do it anymore.

The guy that was with Crowley stopped as he noticed he wasn't going to move even if he made indications of wanting to make him get a move on again, and sighed in annoyance. "Hey! What's bothering you now? Forgot how to walk?"

Crowley didn‘t answer, didn‘t even flinch, only looked up once to stare the guy in the eyes before he brushed off the others arms and started walking. He was staggering and limping, but it all felt numb so he could take those steps, one at a time. All his mind was on about was sleep.

He had slept a century before when he hadn‘t felt well. There nothing could get to him, and he wouldn‘t have to deal with anything. Not to mention how soothing sleep was, and how nice. Quite fitting for an idiot like him. Afterwards he could maybe face Zira again. Once he had forgotten everything. Crowley himself wouldn't forget, he was unable to really.

Dumbfounded the man stood there and eyed him up and down before taking approximately three large steps to catch up to him, grabbing the demon's shoulder to force him to turn around and look at him.

"I'm talking to you! Forgot how to speak now as well? Lost your voice when you were screaming like a bitch before? You aren't gonna just walk away on me like that, trust me."

Crowley let himself be spun around, staring at him blankly as if all drive had left him, didn't even bother to get out of the grip or, in even some way, defend himself. He just stared blank ahead, stiff as a board, basically expressionless.

There was nothing in the demon, the man couldn't read a single emotion on his face. He wasn't even tensing up in the slightest, no flinch, no nothing. All of his anger dissolved and turned into utter confusion at that point. He wanted a reaction from him. He should be scared, or at least act startled by him, and not this blankly. It was more the side glances of the people that passed them by that got him out of the state of waiting to see a glimmer of literally anything than the wish of presiding to get on with getting to their destination.

"Come on. W-we are going. We aren't done yet after all." He tried sounding threatening, it didn't come out right though, but he still went to walk again and tried to drag the demon along with more force.

While Crowley did stumble along with him, he was quiet now, not even trembling, only limping and the occasional staggering when he lost his balance and had to catch himself. His mind was far away by now. Since he didn't look at where he was walking anymore he stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and fell down, face first without even trying to catch himself. The asphalt felt nice actually, just about ready for him to drift off.

The man had to let him go now to not to be dragged down with him and stood there to comprehend if what was happening was really real. This was becoming so much worse. People stopped now to watch the scene unfold, and he was starting to lose more and more of his control the more people had stopped to stare.

Frantically looking around he bit his tongue to hold back any shouting to make Crowley get back up. He didn't want to attract EVEN MORE people. This was all too much way too fast for his liking, and he took a few shaky steps back before he simply fled to get as far away from there as possible.

To hell with his plan of causing more distress to his prey.

After a few minutes Crowley forced himself to stand up. His knees were scraped and bleeding, and he had twisted his ankle a little. Not to his bother, he was numb anyway from all the pain and...well.

Sleep, yeah, sleep.

That was all he could really think about, like it had laid itself like a blanket over every uncomfortable thought he had. He had lost his glasses while falling, but they had cracked more anyway, so they were useless. He was shabby and dirty, blood and cum already dried on his legs.

He started walking again without any real drive. It all just felt too surreal. He only stopped walking when he had gotten outside the city and to a river nearby.

It was a pretty place, really. Not too far from the city, good view on a cute, little bridge leading over it, and the nearby forest leading to the village Adam lived in was lending it's shadow to the parkbench. Even prettier at nighttime, dusted in stars and coated with blue moonlight, the calm water flowing towards an unknown point in the horizon. Crowley didn't really remember how he got there, but the bench looked almost like a bed, comfortable under the dark blanket called the nightsky.

It was stupid. Everything was so pretty, and he couldn't see any of it.

He limped to the bench and let himself sink down on it, his head feeling even heavier as he got entranced by the waves. But deep inside his brain something wouldn't let him sleep, no matter how hard he tried to silence it. It was there and it screamed, it got furious at the pain and would claw at his insides that felt scrambled enough as is.

Just a little helper, he would take just a little helper to calm himself.

With a little movement of his hand a bottle of pills appeared in his hand, filled to the brim with sleeping pills. 'Just one', he thought. 'Just one'. But it wouldn't help. It seemed to him he waited an eternity and this little voice inside him still hadn't shut up. It scared him and he got desperate. If he couldn't sleep, then what was he left to do?

Sleep.

The small little waves seemed to vanish the longer he stared at them, everything blurring out except the deep, dark, clear water of the river. Right. If one sleeping pill wasn't enough, then a dozen would be. Would help him wash out his inside and shut up his brain to sleep another century.

Maybe when he woke up there'd be flying cars in the air and a robot digging trash out of the polluted river.

Maybe.

With a swift movement the cap was loose once more and all of the pills found their way inside his mouth and down his throat. He just stared now, waiting for the effect to kick in, and for about ten minutes that really seemed to be the case. He got drowsy and dizzy and sleepy, and wanted to rest his head against something soft. But it only lasted for that moment.

Right when he was about to doze off something kicked him awake like a hard punch to his stomach. He immediately shot up and bent over, clutching his stomach and choking. The feeling crept up his throat and unloaded itself in him throwing up. Everything was spinning, even worse than when he had just been drunk.

It was horrible, painful. Every single sensation seemed to suddenly snap back like a rubber band, and by god it hurt. His feet, knees and bottom were stinging like someone had rubbed salt into a deep flesh wound, his headache making him feel like his head was gonna explode.

His mind was running in circles and the air, by god, he only now realized it was night as the cold air, like blades, cut through his skin and felt like it was gonna freeze his whole being, preferable to the state he was in right now really. His body was rejecting his death, he was immortal after all, and forcibly flushed out all the toxins in his body.

His mouth was already dry and his throat burnt, but he still kept throwing up and choking. It seemed like no end. Somewhere during that he had fallen of the bench and was by now crawling on the ground, his whole body being shaken by one wave of pain to the other.

'Zira'.

Help. He needed help. His whole body felt like it was splitting. It felt like he was dying, even worse than dying even.

'Angel'.

Everything was slipping from him.

' _Please_ '.

He tried to reach out and grab onto anything, but there was only air. 'Help me'. He was yelling in his mind, but through his mouth came no sound aside from the pitiful chokes and groans and apalling noises when another wave hit him. Had he not cried before, he did now.


	5. Lost And Found

Aziraphale had long since arrived back at his bookshop and had locked himself up in the backroom with a stack of books he had yet to read. He needed a distraction, anything that didn't remind him of Crowley was something he was willing to take. Yet it wouldn´t stop to hurt.

Why did it not stop? Why was that happening now that he had finally accepted that they were on their own, together with none of their previous superiours wanting them back, nor either of them wanting to go and leave behind what they had accomplished?

Sighing he put his book down after losing track of what he was even reading anymore. This was messing with his head more than any of his demon´s actions over the course of the past 6000 years had ever had, and it was overwhelming, to say the least.

Just as he was about to close his eyes and dwell more on the past and the ´what ifs` if he had chosen a different path, there was an unpleasant feeling making itself present again, which he couldn't place anywhere. Soon enough he felt the need to leave the bookshop and go to a place close near Tadfield.

Why? He didn't know. Did he follow his instinct? Absolutely.

It didn't take him long for his instincts to guide him to where he was supposed to head, still puzzled why he even did this. Soon enough when he got closer he got that feeling he had gotten so many times before: The feeling of his beloved being close by.

Even if the feeling was giving off the worst kinds of selfish thoughts again, he pressed. There were strange noises, and when he got closer to the bench next to the river, his heart sank completely. 

"Crowley..? Crowley, are you ok?!"

Shocked he quickened his pace to kneel down next to his friend, taking his face between his hands.

"What happened?!"

Crowley was like paralyzed, limp on the ground, his body shuddering only through him still occasionally throwing up. It felt like he had already puked out everything in his body, more than was even supposed to go. Only as he was picked up he finally realized what was happening, and it felt like Aziraphale had put a blanket over the bombardment of sensations, soothing them all in one go.

The cold turned to warmth and the pain seemed less sharp. His desperate tears that had started drying were bubbling back up. Bubbling back up to wash out the fear, and welcome the soothing of the angel.

His body was warm and soft, and smelled nice of old books and sweet cologne and sweet treats, and this scent of angel that was indescribable, sweet and soft and pure and beautiful.

By now he was crying his heart out, tears streaming endlessly over his already reddened cheeks and he sniffled and sobbed. His limp body, that had felt like no matter how hard he tried would not budge, would finally move on his will and, with trembling hands, he gripped onto Zira's coat, tugging at it as if to see if he was real, brushing past his hands to feel the warmth of the living.

" _An...gel-_ ", he choked out under coughs and sobs, his throat dry and achey and making his voice raspy, keeping him from speaking coherently.

By now he was half sober and aware of his surroundings and he knew what he looked and, more importantly, smelled like, and he was so sorry for it. He didn't want to sully his angel, he didn't want to apall his angel, but he could and would not leave him for anything in the world in that moment. He had never felt so alone and so full of fear in his life like he had before, not even when he had fallen from grace.

" _Angel-_ ", he sobbed out once more, sure that he was really with him, sure that he was holding him, though his eyes wouldn't really allow him to see him behind the stream of tears.

"I'm here, my dear. Try to calm yourself."

Never had Aziraphale seen his friend this broken before. Never had he WANTED to see him this broken. Desperately he wanted to figure out what had led to him being in so much pain. There was no way he'd find out now though, and for the time being it was fine. What he was sure of was, that there wasn't a chance he'd leave his side any time soon.

God could come down and give him the most important of tasks and he'd ignore it to take care of Crowley first.

As he wiped some tears away he scanned him briefly and could easily see that he looked tired and was trembling all over. No wonder by how short his dress was. Letting go of him he took off his coat and wrapped Crowley in it before he took him in his arms again, hoping it was comforting him even a little.

It was concerning that he smelled of alcohol, blood and sex, but neither of those things were a reason for him to be disgusted since for that, he loved him too much.

The coat was not only warm and soft, but also cozy and covered Crowley like a blanket. He gripped onto it and pulled it closer around himself before he pushed his face into his angel, slowly getting to calm his breathing and heartbeat. His sobs slowly grew scarcer and his tears stopped flowing, his trembling and shivering calmed into occasional shudders.

"Home", he mumbled before he drifted off.

He had exhausted all his energy by now, not only physically, but mentally too. He was engulfed in the most beautiful scent and felt soft all over with the coat and Aziraphale all around him. How could he not fall asleep that instant. He felt safe now.

The request was simple, get him home. So the angel did. He knew where Crowley lived luckily. He hadn't been there often, but being there once had been enough to know the way to it. For his liking, it was too empty. It reminded him a bit of how heaven was, but since it was Crowley's home and not that place, that he had lost part of his faith in, he could manage.

Still holding Crowley in his arms he miracled for the front door to open itself so he could enter and not drop the demon, and let it close itself when he was inside. Sighing he looked down at him as he carried him to his bedroom and put him down on the bed. He did wait until the next morning to make any sort of interaction with him, but when morning got to noon he was getting impatient. Leaning over him he tapped him lightly and called out for him to get up.

Crowley grumbled. He felt far away from reality like he was in a black room or something and couldn't move. He tried walking in there, but it was more like he was underwater and had forgotten how to swim. It was lonely, and boring, and dark. So he was surprised to hear Aziraphale's voice getting through to him. It seemed far off and, well, like his ears were filled with water, rather hard to understand, but it was Zira.

He tried to get to where he thought his angel's voice was, rather hard without being able to swim. 'Goddamn water', he grumbled in his mind which came out as a mumbled and broken off 'water' through his mouth.

"Water?" Well if that's what would make him get up... "Don't worry, I'll be right back with you, dear."

Aziraphale got up and went to go and search for the supposed requested item. It was a start to at least get an answer out of him. Even if it was only a single word, it was a good start to him.

It was only when the angel had left that Crowley finally opened his eyes. He felt confused and empty and really, really numb. His head felt heavy and his memories seemed to have a few black holes in them regarding the last day. Grumbling he gripped onto his head and slowly sat up. God, he felt horrible.

Blinking his eyes a few times he tried to adjust to the light, taking a few moments until his eyes had adjusted. Letting out a sigh he patted the bed to find out what he was sitting on since he couldn't really feel the softness of it, but as he saw something from the corner of his eyes, he let out a high pitched scream and backed away.

He was aside himself, quite literally. He stood next to his body that laid on the bed like he was still dreaming or something.

It was all calm and quiet until the scream coming from the bedroom ripped through the silence. Aziraphale let the water be water and rushed back to the demon in blind panic.

"Crowley, what's wro-?!"

He stopped dead in his track at the door, staring at the demon's spirit standing beside the body he inhabited. This was not happening now, he thought. It was better than having to worry too much over what was happening with his demon physically, but still he was freaking out over this just as much as the demon himself was.

"How did you get yourself discorporated?! Damn it, Crowley!"

"Well I didn't WANT to die!", Crowley screeched, staring at his body in utter confusion, digging in his memories for what had happened excactly.

"Wait, I did overdose, didn't I." He stated it nonchalantly as if it was no big deal. Well, he was immortal anyway after all. "Poke it, angel! _Make me wake up_!"

He pointed to his body, quickly walking over to Aziraphale.

"What? No! I am not going to 'poke it', and don't you dare say it like it was a thing you do more often!" He took a few steps closer to him and was so close to try and physically shake some sense into him, until he remembered, it wouldn't do anything. "What are we going to do now?! Hell won't be so kind and give you a new body, and at this point neither would heaven! Why didn't you think about this before?! You aren't stupid like that!"

The angel needed to calm down. There could be a simple solution for this, but if he was going to use his time freaking out over the fact that Crowley wasn't quite there anymore, it would take some serious time to come up with something.

"Why do you assume that I would just try to kill myself every so often??" Crowley's voice had a weird swing of anger and 'what the fuck' mixed into it. Turning back to his body he walked there and inspected it closely.

"I'm not assuming that- Oh let's not talk about that when we have a bigger problem."

"Then I guess i'll just wait until I find a suitable body? Or I do go back to hell. Check it."

Crowley turned around and made a weird pose.

"If you give me some holy water i'll just go down there and be like 'Give me a body or you'll get a good dosage of the holy water I bathed in'." He stopped to think for a moment.

"Wait, wouldn't that be kinky if I said it was my bathwater? Or wouldn‘t that actually make it your bathwater?"

Holding his hands up in defense Aziraphale dropped them just as fast again when he heard the ideas Crowley was proposing.

"What?! Are you insane? You can't just go down to hell with a bottle of holy water and hope you are given a new body. You might be able to deal with one or two demons at a time, but not the entirety of hell. Also don't say it would be kinky to use your bathwater on them, and then project it onto me."

Neither of the ideas the demon had were of any help. Aziraphale wasn't going to sit and wait around doing nothing, but he wasn't willing to help Crowley on such a suicide mission either. There had to be another way, another simple solution to their problem. He had to just think about it for some time, and he was sure he could find something to help.

"I'm not, you were the one bathing in that as-", Crowley stopped himself right there and cleared his throat. "If we don't have a choice. I for my part don't want to just take any bloody random body." 'Though I guess I could if it comes down to it', he added unwillingly in his mind.

Grinning he walked back to Aziraphale. "You've seen their faces, angel. I'll be a star if I go down there."

The demon laughed though he didn't quite feel much like walking back down to hell. This time they'd rip him for sure, but he didn't want to stay discorporated for too long either. Though he really did deserve it after the last day.

"I have seen their faces, yes, and I have seen how a demon died because of holy water, and I will NOT risk you having the same death."

Aziraphale stayed serious and bit his lip to search his mind for anything, literally anything that was enough to convince Crowley to not be foolish and risk his life. Suddenly there was a thought that seemed like something worth giving a shot, and he smiled hopefully at the demon.

"I got it! I know how we can get you a new body without needing you to go back down to hell!"

"Hm?" Crowley looked up from his thoughts and gave him a questioning look. "I ain't gonna go and inhabit your body you know."

"No, no, I am not thinking about that." Quickly brushing the comment off the angel clapped his hands together and already took a few steps out of the room towards the door. "We need Adam! He will be able to fix this!"

"You sure he's going to help us? You tried to kill him, you know?" Crowley tilted his head to the side. "Even though he's the antichrist, he isn't a problem solver. He's still just a child."

He shrugged and looked back to his body. It really looked like shit now that he got an outsiders view on it.

"Yeah. I tried to kill him, and afterwards he gave me my original body back. Come on, we don't have many options here. If that won't work.. Well, we'd have to go with your plan, even if I don't like it. So, please, let's just try it, ok?"

He turned around enough to give him a pleading look. It was hard enough as it was, and he didn't want to have another argument, it would only cause more trouble.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just go then. You drive. I ain't having a good feel for driving right now." He couldn't resist those eyes, not that he wanted to either way. "What are we gonna do about that body though. I don't want that rotting in my bed. It's sentimental, you know? I kind of don't wanna get rid of it either."

Aziraphale would have loved to have an idea on how to deal with the body, but he had even less ideas to how he could keep it, than on how to get rid of it. Now wasn't the time for that though, now was time to see the boy.

"One thing at a time. First we try and get Adam to give you a new body, then we can think of what to do with your old one. Sounds good?"

Zira was about ready to go, but stopped dead in his track again, looking at the other in a mix of confusion and amazement. "Hold on...Are you trying to tell me you'd let me try and drive your beloved Bentley?"

"Don't phrase it like that", Crowley whined. "It sounds like you're just out to drive it against the wall."

Rubbing the back of his neck a little anxious, he followed his angel before an idea popped into his head. "Hey, wait. Have you ever even driven a car?" Somehow he really started fearing for his beloved car now. He had already lost it once. That had been hard enough.

"Ah well... I have an idea on how to do it, meaning, I know how it works, but haven't done it nearly as much as you have. But I don't think that's enough of an answer to make you less worried." Aziraphale could practically feel the worry radiating off of him, and it made him somewhat anxious too. It was obvious he cared greatly about that car just as much as he himself cared about the bookshop, and he understood how careful he had to be and was going to, when Crowley would give him so much trust.

"Well.. You are driving at 90 mph on a busy street so I should be fine with driving normally at the less crowded street, right?"

The demon furrowed his brows and gave off a worried noise. "Do you even have a driver's license?"

They by now stood outside the house and Crowley was getting extremely uncomfortable about how he looked. He quickly changed back into his usual look. With another snap of his finger the Bentley appeared before him since he had forgotten it at the bar.

Huffing at the question he opened the door to the driver's seat and got in the car. "Sometimes I wonder if, and how **you** got one, so get in and stop complaining. If anything would happen to it, you get to complain all you want, and I'll miracle any scratches away."

It wasn't like he couldn't drive at all, he didn't kill Madame Tracy and Shadwell when he was in Tracy's body, and got them to the military base after all, but the pressure of ruining something the demon loved, and the constant worry coming from his friend, was making him feel less confident in his abilities. Still, there wasn't any other way.

"Hey, I got one", the demon pouted and got in.

Crowley didn't like to remember that time. Since he had fun with cars he had taken the classes, and it had been horrible. He never again would drive that slow, that he had sworn to himself. Grumbling he sat down and pushed up his glasses, a worried glance over to where Zira had his hands on the steering wheel.

Rolling his eyes the angel gave one last glance to Crowley before starting up the car and taking a deep breath. It was so tempting to make a show of acting like he was more clueless than he was, but since Crowley already seemed distressed, it would be too cruel. Just as careful as he would handle his most precious books he began to drive down the street towards Tadfield.

Staring out the window the demon stayed quiet. He actually wanted to complain about the speed Zira was going at, but he didn't feel much like it. Sighing he frowned. He couldn't really feel his car at all. He wanted to feel the leather and the steering wheel under his hand, his foot stepping on the gas. Absent minded he put on the radio.

Although this was one of those tense silences, Aziraphale didn't want to change it now. For the time being he left the demon be. There would be a lot of talking later, and there would be no backing out of it, he'd make sure of that. They needed to talk about more than he'd be happy to talk about, but things needed to be set straight, otherwise they would not be talked about again until the next century, just as always.

The whole drive was quiet. At least after about half of it Crowley stopped worrying as much. Zira wasn't excactly sure at driving, but it was better than he had thought. He had never seen the angel drive before after all. Once they were at Tadfield Crowley basically fled the car as if to evade the silence. "How are we even gonna find Adam. You think he's at home?"

Aziraphale exited the car after the taller had to take the time to watch Crowley make it ridiculously obvious he didn't want to be there any time longer, and shrugged. "I don't know, but it would be a start to look there, wouldn't it? If he won't be there we could ask that girl that had the book. She should know."

Badly he wanted to comment on the fact that they'd know more about Adam and where he would be at certain times, if they hadn't spent almost 11 years watching the wrong child. He refrained from it, but he shot him a weird look instead before leading the way.

The demon didn't even see the look he was given and shrugged. "Whatever, let's go."

He took a few steps forward, but stopped after a moment to look at Zira a little confused. "Where even does he live?" He hadn't deemed it important to remember.

Without stopping to walk, Aziraphale pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and held it up so Crowley could see. "Just follow me. I figured it out before Armageddon started."

The town wasn't big at all so it took almost no time to get where they were heading, but the question now was, how should they approach this? It would be a bit strange if a grown man would ask to see 11 year old Adam, and couldn't give an answer that wouldn't sound like a lie.

"Any ideas on how to get to him?"

"Hm? Yeah." One snap and Aziraphale held a dog collar in his hand. "Heard he lost something", Crowley grinned and gestured for him to ring the doorbell.

A middle aged man opened and looked a little confused. "Oh, um, Mr..." With a quick look at the nametag Aziraphale assured himself and went back to smiling. "Sorry to disturb, Mr. Young. I've found this and wanted to return this to the owner. Is Adam Young here?"

The man shook his head, reaching out to grab the collar. "No, he is out with his friends right now. But I can give it to him once he comes back."

Aziraphale politely shook his head and pulled his hand away, though he really did want to give it back, but they needed this to find Adam. Curse Crowley for tricking him into this. "I would like to give it to Adam myself. He must be in jeopardy not being able to find it. Might you know where he is?"

A little dumbfounded Mr. Young shrugged and gave another quick look at the collar before he pointed down the road in the direction of the forest. "They have a hideout down there. Don't excactly know where, but you should be able to hear them."

"Oh, thank you. That'll make it easier on us. A good day."

The angel gave his best smile and walked away from the doorstep and into the pointed direction. An uncomfortable shiver shook him as he thought about how he basically had just lied to him. Still felt bad on his tongue.

"That was not neccessary, Crowley."

"Oh, please. And how else would we have gotten to him?"

The angel had nothing to add to that and only went to sulking a little. But to their luck they already heard children yelling and a dog barking as soon as they neared the forest, so they were most definitely there. The nerdy one with the glasses seemed to see them first, along with the dog, since the dog started growling and the nerdy kid ran up to Adam, who was holding a dirty frisbee. Adam's eyes already were on the two of them before any of the two could even say anything.

"Yo, Antichrist."

Adam furrowed his brows and stopped their game, silencing Dog. "You're those two angels from that day, aren't you?"

He waved his friends to himself, just in caution. "What do you want? And don't call me that", he added pointing to Crowley. "It's Adam."

Sensing a slight tension already building up, Aziraphale decided to say something to not let things go down. "Maybe you should let me do the talking, yes? No need to act like that now."

Turning towards the kids, mostly to Adam, he began to voice their request.

"Excuse him, please. He is a little out of it, so to say. Adam, we came here because we have an important request to make. You see, Crowley may or may not have lost his body due to some things that happened, and it would be very kind of you, if you could help him out like you did with me."

Pepper looked sceptical between them before she crossed her arms and looked over to her friend. "I don't think i'm quite seeing what you are, but I don't think you should help him. I think they are just using you for their own good and will just leave again without doing something for you in return."

Adam nodded wisely at Pepper's remark.

"She's right. I don't know a thing about you aside from when you encouraged me to kill Satan."

Sounded funny now that Adam thought about it. Killing Satan. "Also, you two are hella suspicious. You tried to kill me."

He pointed to Aziraphale.

"And you look like a pedophile."

He pointed at Crowley, who shot him an annoyed look and took a step forward to say something, but was stopped by Aziraphale.

"What's in there for me?"

Wensleydale, the nerdy kid, tugged at Adam's jacket from behind. "But Adam, they're not human. Shouldn't we listen to them...?" He felt uncomfortable enough that he couldn't see the, supposedly, second person at play.

Adam shook his head and put his finger to his lips to keep him quiet. "They may be non human but for starters, I don't know them. Second, I have powers myself, you‘ve seen that, and if something happened, i‘d protect you all", he whispered, at which Wensleydale just swallowed and nodded.

"So? What's in it for me?"

There it was, the dreaded question of what he'd get out of it. Of course there would be a catch to it. "Well, what do you want from us? You could have anything you want, as long as it is manageable to do."

They were kids, it couldn't be too much of a problem to perform a miracle for them, even if one was the Antichrist.

"Ohhh, Adam, we could get so much stuff out of it! Think of all the ice cream! We could eat all the flavors they have in america!", Brian perked up, but Pepper rammed her elbow in his side to keep him from babbling too loud and give Adam ideas. "Just decline it. They have nothing we need."

"Well, they do have one thing, but..."

Adam looked at Crowley.

"I don't think you've ever stolen dog's collar."

At once the collar was back around dog's neck. "Don't try to steal from me again." With that he turned around.

Crowley was just about to ragequit by now and just give this kid a good old taste of what a demon could do. First being called an angel, then a pedophile, and then being scolded by that damn kid. Who cared that that was the Antichrist, Crowley wouldn't lose against a brat. Instead of following his instincts though Crowley bit his lip and grumbled some insults, holding himself back only because his angel had asked him to.

"Okay guys, group talk. What is all of your opinions on this?"

Wensleydale looked a bit flustered. "Well, I'm still standing by it. Those two aren't normal. We- we really shouldn't anger them."

"I still think we should just let them go back where they came from. It's none of our business what they need", Pepper threw in and shot a judging look at the demon and angel. "They should do things themselves and not depend on you."

"But guys... We can have whatever we want and don't have to work for it. That's great! Sure, Adam could do all those things too, but these two are adults that are willing to do anything we want from them. That's so much better!" Brian still just had candy on his mind and looked hopeful at his friends.

Zira didn't do much besides smile uneasy and tap his fingers on the back of his hand while he waited for an answer. It was stressful to have to wait and see when things didn't look up, but staying positive was always better than being negative about the whole ordeal.

"So it stands two against one, huh?" Adam had a thoughtful look on his face.

Shrugging he turned to Pepper a little apologetic. "I mean, at the end they were on my side, so I don't believe they could be all bad." That was more directed at Wensleydale now. "And the angel didn't seem like he was lying. Sorry Pepper."

Hands crossed in front of his chest the boy took a good look at everyones faces before he continued. "So, we will listen to them. If they do hold their promise. So what do you all want? Everyone has a free wish."

Wensleydale was getting a little twitchy now, nervously looking first to Aziraphale, then Crowley. "Okay, then. If it's anything I'd like to try something." He looked extremely flustered now and muttered into his shirt.

"If they're angels, I wanna know what their wings feel like."

Not going on about making any comment on anything that was said Pepper crossed her arms, muttering a silent: "...I want boxing gloves. My mom won't get me any."

Brian was vibrating with excitement and had a big, dumb smile on his face. "I want 27 different flavors of ice cream! Can we get it now or do we have to wait for it, Adam?"

"You'll get it now, don't worry", Adam grinned at the hyperactivity of Brian once he was on the trail to some sugar. "Then it is decided."

Adam turned back around.

"Okay, we've got a deal. I'll give your friend his body back, and you'll do three things for us."

"Don't you want anything, Adam?"

The boy shook his head and flashed Wensleydale a quick grin. "27 different flavors of ice cream for Brian, boxing gloves for Pepper, and Wensleydale wants to touch both your wings. Got that?"

Now, the requests weren't bad, they were pretty easy to get over with. Still, letting some kid touch their wings. didn't sit well with Aziraphale. The only reason he'd do it was for Crowley's sake, so he'd better apprectiate it.

"Alright, it's a deal. You'd be **ok** with it for getting your body back, right, Crowley?" He gave the demon a look that screamed 'please don't cause a scene and do as they say', before he already miracled them the requested boxing gloves and ice cream without waiting for an answer.

Crowley grumbled and turned to look to the side, furiously biting his lip at how a goddamn kid would be allowed to touch Zira's wings before him. Wensleydale was absolutely flustered, muttering something in astonishment as Aziraphale extended his wings. Adam had to even give him a little push foward so that he finally could build up some courage to walk over to the angel.

Amazed, and quite frightened too, he at first only grazed the wing, quickly pulling his hand back again in fear. But as Aziraphale didn't excactly show any hostile behaviour he quickly started stroking the feathers, twirling them around, and later even pushing his head against them, feeling the soft feathers against his cheek. It really was heaven and the angel smelled so nice too.

"Hey, you too." Adam looked at Crowley, who was cursing and kicking up some leaves in the background.

"Why me?? He can't even touch me without a body", Crowley complained snarling, snapping at him.

It felt weird yet somewhat pleasant to have the kid touch his wings, but it wouldn't be something the angel was going to repeat any time soon, if he didn't have to. Hearing Crowley complain though got him out of his head and switch glances between the demon and Adam.

"He would really need his body for that", he started off, and mostly talked as if to speak out a command for the demon. "But he will do it. It's really important for him, so why should he back out of it? Would be a shame if you could never go around town in your Bentley, or the fact that I won't help you again if you need a new body for example, would it?"

The other two kids watched, even Pepper looked somewhat amazed despite her usual hostile nature.

Crowley snitched and nodded reluctantly. "As he said."

Shrugging Adam looked at Crowley.

"Your body is right here."

Out of nowhere his old body popped up, lying in the dirt right in front of him. Whining the demon took a few steps back, muttering something that sounded like 'be careful with that'.

"Uh, that looks pretty roughed up", Adam grimaced and stared a little confused at how different the body actually looked from the demon cowering in front of him now. "You sure this is yours?"

The demon nodded and was just about to say something, but Adam stopped him.

"You're alive."

In an instant Crowley's spirit vanished and he was back in his body. His eyes flew open and he immediately pushed himself up, coughing for air since his body had been dead for a while now. It still all felt numb, and cold, and extremely weird, but he definitely had his body back. The pain rushing back to him signalized it.

Cursing he stood up, his balance a little out of control. Spitting out a leaf he patted dirt and dust from his body, ruffling through his hair to get the leaves out of there too. Groaning he held his head. He wasn't sure what was more prominent on the young nerd's face. The fear of what the hell he'd just seen, or the excitement for the supernatural. Though fear was probably more accurate. He had just seen someone appear out of nowhere after all.

"Do I really have to?" It sounded pleading, but since Adam's only answer was 'yes', he did spread his wings and crossed his arms in front of his chest, waiting for the kid to spring onto him.

Wensleydale was a little bit more cautious with him, but nonetheless reached out for the feathers. He was rather disappointed though and grimaced. Crowley reeked and his feathers weren't as soft as Zira's, and not as pretty either, and Wensley was still shaken to the bone, that this person had apparently been dead up until a few minutes ago. Shrugging he returned to the angel and bit his lip before he asked, if he could have one of Aziraphale's feathers. Crowley, though being relieved that he wouldn't have to be humiliated by having his wings pet like he was a dog or something, did though feel humiliated that the boy had almost immediately lost interest him.

It felt so good to see Crowley walking around in his body again and not have his spirit following the angel here. Sure, it looked a bit beaten up, and once he was back home he needed a long shower, nonetheless, it was nice to have him fully back. Just as he was about to make an attempt on comforting his friend that he should be happy that all this was over, the boy came back to him.

If there was one thing he hated was to see someone disappointed, and even if he would have loved to decline, Aziraphale had already reached up to pluck a feather from his wings with a little wince to hand it over to Wensleydale. After that was all done he hid his wings again and sighed in relief, smiling thankfully at Adam.

"Thank you for your help. It would have been quite a disaster if you wouldn't have been willing to help us."

"Nothing much. You made my friends happy, so call it even", Adam shrugged, welcoming the overexcited nerd with a pat on the back. "You should teach your friend to be a little more cheerful though. Not everyone will help you with such a grimace."

Stretching Adam waved and turned around already. "Come, Dog. Pepper, Brian, Wensley. You still haven't seen the best trick I taught Dog!"

Crowley let out a long sigh once the children were out of sight and kicked up the leaves once more before he turned around. "We got what we came for. Let's go home."

Giving him a small nod in agreement the angel turned around to where they had come from and placed a hand on Crowley's back to guide him back to the Bentley. It didn't matter that Crowley knew where it was, Aziraphale did this for himself. He could have lost him for good, maybe that's how the demon had felt too when he had discorporated.

He didn't know.

All he knew was that he needed to feel that he was there with him now, that is was a possibility that he could touch him. Silently he removed his hand from him as they reached the car and slipped into the passenger seat, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Everything was fine again. Hopefully. He knew it was only wishful thinking, one of the hardest parts was still to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for all the people who read this chapter before the fix. My brain was like, yeah, Crowley's discorporated, people can see and interact with him. That's how it works. Anyway, after I punished my friend for not pointing that out to me, though he was silently confused, and possibly making fun about it behind my back, it is now fixed. Apologies again!


	6. Accidental Confession

His face flushed the instant he felt Zira's hand on his back. That was what he had waited for all the while, and he was annoyed when he lost the sensation to get in the car. Crowley winced at the pain once he sat down and quickly started the Bentley, giving off a content sigh as he let his hand slide over his seat and the steering wheel, enjoying the simple sensations he got just from that. He had missed that while being discorporated, though it hadn't be long.

Humming in delight he pushed down the gas pedal and the Bentley made a jump forward. A little bit too much flustered at the gratefulness he felt towards Aziraphale he needed a moment of silent driving before he finally cleared his throat. "To you or me?"

Even the silence felt nice. It had been some time since Aziraphale had been able to say that. Last time had been at the Ritz after Armageddon had been avoided, and that might not have happened too long ago, but that wasn't the point. The point was that it felt good to just be in Crowley's presence without worrying.

The usual unnerving driving style the demon had out on display wasn't even bothering him, not in the slightest; he craved it. It was a part of him, just like the glasses or his temper, and Aziraphale felt like he couldn't live without it in this moment. "Anything is fine by me. Wherever you want to go, I want to go."

"Your place then", the demon mumbled and took a sharp turn, cutting the curve quite sharply so poor Aziraphale was slightly pushed around by the quick pull of gravity. About halfway there, Crowley spoke up again. "Can I take a shower at your place?"

The only thing the angel did as a reaction to the harsh driving was giving of a small noise of discomfort, but that was it. No complaints, no lectures on what could happen, nothing. "Of course you can! What kind of question is that? Anything else you'd need?"

He was doing his best to sound not fazed by anything, which was harder than he thought, nonetheless he sounded cheerful.

It actually really surprised the demon that there was no complaint from his friend. Felt wrong, though not bad, in it's own way. Still wrong though. Kind of made him fear there'd be a huge scolding later, but the honestly soft tone in his angel's voice made him forget about that.

"Uh, I miracle my clothes, and aside..." He rubbed his neck and stopped when he felt the hickey. Fuck, right, that was still there and visible. "I could use some help healing all that up." He didn't even gesture to what needed fixing on and in his body.

Now wasn't the time for the angel to worry how the demon looked like, he had other things to worry about, so he gave him a sweet smile and an: "Anything you want, I'll be more than happy to bring you", and went back to somewhat clinging to his seat in a hope that he would get out of this car fine.

'God can he fuck me already', was the thing the demon nearly let slip out of his mouth as he watched the angel.

Clearing his throat the only thing that came out was a 'Right' before he concentrated back on the street, hitting the brakes hard once the familiar bookshop came into sight to park quickly. Stepping out of the car he popped his spine and looked over to Aziraphale, who seemed to have a bit of trouble getting out of the car after that ride. "Open it for me?"

After a trip like that the angel took some time to get himself to calm down. There wasn't a chance he'd get used to this. Never. Taking one last, deep breath he stepped out of the car and made his way over to the door to hold it open, giving him a hand gesture to go in. "After you, my friend."

Nodding Crowley walked inside, taking a deep breath, once he was in, of the familiar, dusty air. "I'm gonna go shower." He turned straight to the direction of the bathroom and walked away with long steps. A nice, refreshing shower with Aziraphale's shampoo. Fuck. Okay. He stopped his thoughts right there.

"I'll be here if you need me", Zira called after him and was once again alone. Alone in a good way. Now he felt relaxed enough to sit down and continue where he had left off reading the other night.

He wasn't going to sit there and make it look like he desperately waited for his friend to return to him, so he picked up the book and flipped through some of the pages.

Up in the bathroom Crowley was just overwhelmed by the stuff Aziraphale used for showering. There were tons of different shampoos and beauty masks and nail polish and...just so, so much more. Crowley decided for one of the less extravagant ones and and walked into the shower. Felt good to finally get rid of that flimsy, dirty dress. He didn't wanna see that again. He just snapped sighing, and it disappeared.

The cold water on his skin was refreshing and poured some energy back into his sore muscles. The dirt really stuck to him, he noticed as he washed his hair. Goddamn brat, could have been a lot more careful with his body than slapping it on the ground. He carefully ran his hands through his hair to make sure that every dirt was out, and then went over to wash his body.

God the shampoo hurt when it got into his wounds.

He hissed at the burning pain and quickly washed them out, which didn't make it better. He now could also finally wash out the cum that was still clinging inside him. Felt good to wash that out of his body as well.

Once he felt clean enough he was basically drowned in Aziraphale's scent and had probably used up more of the shampoo than supposed. But he felt energized now, and better. Now only the wounds needed to go, then he'd be like before, basically, probably.

Stretching he dried himself off and miracled his usual clothing to put it on. Damn that felt good to wear after the long time in the dress and being discorporated afterwards.

It was such a shame that that peaceful silence that had been restored, wouldn't last for much longer.

Today the angel was finally going to get every question that was still unanswered out there, and he wasn't going to let Crowley leave until everything was crystal clear to both of them. Questions Zira had asked himself for centuries now, burning on the tip of his tongue, ready to be thrown out into the room once the demon would join him.

No. Now he was the one that was trying to take it too far. First he had to be sure that Crowley had everything he needed to be comfortable, and then he would come and rip that comfort away again.

It sounded bad, but there wasn't any other way he'd get him to talk, it hadn't worked before after all.

Looking into the mirror the demon miracled himself a hairband and put his hair up in a messy bun. Something he had been wanting to try out for a while now. Rather cheerful he walked back down to where his angel was waiting, sneaking up behind him. He leaned over the back rest of the chair and stared at what Aziraphale was reading.

Nothing too interesting he supposed in which he was affirmed.

The presence behind him didn't go unnoticed and Aziraphale was tempted to give in to pull him closer. He didn't do it, instead he put the book down and got up, only then did he turn to be face to face with the demon.

"Enjoyed your shower?", he asked cheerful and made a motion that indicated that he wanted him to follow him over to the couch so they could sit together.

"Quite.“ Crowley twirled a wet hair strand around his finger and blew on it to dry it a little. He did follow Aziraphale and let himself flop down onto the couch, letting out a groan as he had forgotten to be careful, and a sharp pain crept up inside of him.

The demon twisted his body a little so he still had a perfect view on Zira, though they sat next to each other. His yawning indicated how extremely relaxed he was now, aside from being so close to his angel, but he managed to stay calm. After 6000 years he kinda had learnt it.

"That's nice to hear."

The demon always had been something nice to look at. Since the dawn of creation, when they had first met, there was something fascinating about his appearance. Although Zira could watch Crowley play with his hair all day and have him seem so calm next to him, he averted his eyes to collect his thoughts and only then turned back to him.

"You were saying you needed healing? Do you still need it, or have you done that in the shower", the angel asked, his hands folded in his lap, awaiting an answer.

"Oh, yeah, right." Crowley bent forward a little and rubbed his neck a little flustered. "Didn't do it yet. You said you'd help after all." His mind was a little blank at the closeness of the two and the cute and beautiful smile he was flashed, by how shyly his angel sat in front of him.

"So I did." A small laugh escaped Aziraphale at the almost too adorable kind of way the demon was embarrassed over such a small thing. "Would you want to lay down? It would be more relaxing for you that way."

Without thinking much of it, so Aziraphale told himself in his mind, the angel patted his lap expectanly to signalize the demon to rest his head there.

Confused Crowley first looked at where the angel pat his lap, then at Zira's face, and then at the ceiling. He picked it up wrong, right? Looking back down his face was basically flushed and he had straightened up completely at the sudden shock of what he thought this meant.

"Are you- is this-", he pointed at Zira's lap, tilting his head to the side.

With a sigh Zira carefully reached out to him, and, with a reassuring smile, guided him to lay down his head on his lap. Maybe it was too much to ask from him, it probably was. There was a voice inside him that told him to ignore the doubts though, since it was purely for the demon's comfort.

Crowley was basically speechless while his mind just melted at the soft feeling underneath his head. He didn't know if he should cry, or shrug this off, or just silently take it, or speak up, or...He didn't need to answer that himself though since the tears just started pouring down.

Quickly covering his face with his arm he pushed his glasses against his head in a rather painful way. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to let those rather shameful sobs spill out after all those years, all those centuries of keeping them bottled and storing them somewhere he never thought he'd find them again. Biting his lips he tried to silence himself but the sobs only grew muffled and quieter but wouldn't stop, no matter how badly he wanted them to.

Aziraphale's smile wavered when he heard the silenced sobs, and he stilled his hand, which had been gently running through the other‘s hair. He didn't want to make him cry. He had gone too far again, hadn't he? He was the one that had once pushed Crowley away when he had wanted to get closer, and now he was crossing lines again.

"I... Crowley, I'm sorry if I am making you do something you don't want. If this is only making you upset, please say something." He removed his hand from his hair and put it down on the couch since he didn't know what else to do with it, the other one resting on his arm to heal him up with light touches.

Shaking his head slightly the demon sniffled and pushed his face into Zira's stomach, tugging at his vest in an attempt to make the angel go back to ruffling through his hair. His body felt tingly all over from the gentle healing and the soft touches, and the quiet breathing that made Zira's stomach go up and down by the rythm.

He was really out of words and didn't dare to speak either since his words would most probably break off, and his voice be squeakish in happiness, and he was a demon, so he couldn't ruin his reputation like that, now could he. Not in front of Zira for whom he wanted to be cool and amazing.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Zira tangled his fingers back up in his hair, loosening the already messy bun further up. There were no words needed anymore to reassure him that he was, in fact, doing the right thing, so he now felt encouraged enough to slowly run his hand from his arm up to his neck and followed it with his eyes. "Ah Crowley...That mark here, would you like to keep it?"

Aziraphale gently tapped on the hickey to make it painfully obvious what he meant.

"I just want to make sure I'm not getting rid of something you want to keep..."

The image of Crowley and that guy walking down the street popped back up in his head, and it was clear that it had to have come from him. It took a little of the small happy moment they were having from him, and the change in his voice showed that.

Crowley grumbled something into the angel before he moved one hand up to cup Zira's hand and turned his head to look back up into Zira's face. "Don't even make me remember that", he grunted, flinching at the thought of it. The sudden change in tone was rather too obvious, which made the demon feel guilty even more for it.

He grimaced and glanced at the other's hand. "That fucking asshole..."

A goddamn pain in the ass that dude had been, quite literally.

The demon was by now pretty much healed, so he finally relaxed more and more, drying his tears with sloppy handmovements. He even took of his glasses, holding them in his free hand while he wiped his eyes and snuffled.

Nodding understanding the angel miracled the hickey away, before simply laying back and removing his hands from him. This was going to be it. The healing should have been enough for it to not cause too much pain anymore, and he had the demon where he needed him. Now or never.

"So... What happened yesterday? Who was that you were with? What caused you so much pain that you were crying in the middle of nowhere?" He tried to hold eye contact, but couldn't keep it up for too long and had to stare at something on the other side of the room. "All I want is answers. I was scared I lost you for good…"

Alright, there it was, the dreaded question. Crowley put his sunglasses back on and sat back up. He hoped he wouldn't have to talk about it, it wasn't gonna do much talking about it anyway. It was like one moment to the other Crowley's jar of emotions had put back on it's lid, and he was back to unreachable. Though when Aziraphale said that he was scared about losing him, that did stung, and even more than just a bit.

He tried not to make it too obvious. Staring into the opposite direction of the angel he laid back and shrugged. "Nothing much really. Just some random dude, I messed up something." He let out a sigh and wiped his cheeks once more, just to be sure they were completely dry.

"You know how it goes, evil always loses, the evilest and best plan will backfire at it's own evilness, just like you said it. Basically nothing to worry about."

Just as Aziraphale had suspected, Crowley turned down his attempt of getting a conversation started about what had happened. Typical, but he wasn't going to have it this time. He had been accepting of it for far too long that it was brushed off. He had pushed him away countless of times as well, so he didn't hold any grudges. This needed to change now though, and if the demon wasn't willing to take that step, he would.

"No, don't say it like that. Something serious happened that made you act that way, and I won't drop the subject until you have told me what it was. We have known each other for over 6000 years, and if you think you are getting me to help you without even giving me a reason afterwards, I won't be helping you again!"

It was harder to say the last part than he thought, because he knew the demon would run back to him if he was in need of help. And Aziraphale loved him too much to let him deal with things alone.

"I...!" Crowley was about to be agitated about the angel pushing it, but he bit his lip and took a deep breath. There was truth to it. "I'm sorry for yesterday, alright?" He kept staring off somewhere where he wouldn't have to even be able to glance at Aziraphale.

"I made a mistake, I got it. I shouldn't have started yelling at you, I was just really fucking angry." He clenched his fist and unclenched it a few times. "So I went drinking. Is a real painkiller, you know." He laughed bitterly. "Remember when you contacted me when you had discorporated? Basically the same situation."

"But I still don't understand why you ended up discorporating. I am only picking up that it was an accident, but I don't understand why you were so far away from here. Even if you were drunk, you wouldn't act like that, I know that."

That was a start. Crowley seemed willing to talk. Even if just a bit, he was talking about it. Aziraphale reached up for him to put his hand on Crowley's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "I promise you that I won't judge you for whatever you did. I simply want to understand what your thoughts were that led you to it, so I could maybe prevent it happening again."

The demon had hoped he could distract a little bit by how he phrased his words, though he was genuinely sorry, and snitched as his plan didn't work. "It's embarrassing to talk about. I fucked up, isn't that enough", he asked a little pleading, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It isn't enough for me. For once I want to have the entire truth, and not just a quick 'I messed up'." The angel put his other hand on Crowley's other shoulder and turned him so they were facing each other.

"If you don't want to explain it in every detail, just tell me why it came this far. Why did you run off in the first place to get you into this mess?"

"Well, I rather talk then about how that asshole basically ripped me apart than why I left", Crowley let slip out, and almost immediately flushed and cursed. He hadn't wanted to say that, or explain that, but he had kind of lost his composure when he had been turned around.

"Fuck i'll talk about it, god, but you ain't gonna like it. You're an angel, you sure you don't want to just close your ears at this one? It might taint you." He gripped Aziraphale's hands and carefully slid them off his shoulders, keeping a hold on them for a moment as if he was thinking about keeping that going, but quickly let them go to rather tuck a loose hairstrand behind his ear.

It took him aback at the unexpected information Aziraphale got out of the demon, and he had to bite his lip not to make a comment on it. That explained the smell of sex that had followed him when he found him. Ok, something he would avoid. At the mentioning of Crowley holding back because he didn't want the angel to hear anything that could be deemed as sinful, Zira could only shake his head.

"I know a lot of things, and have seen a lot of things already, dear. You would be surprised. So, please, do continue. Don't worry about me."

The demon could only raise an eyebrow at that. He kind of wanted to ask Zira about what he had seen exactly and why, but this wasn't about Zira, but about...him. Clearing his throat he stiffened up a little to get it out of his system as nonchalantly as possible.

"I basically went to a brothel for, uh, reasons, and got a guy. I tried suckin' him off, but failed 'cuz I was drunk as heck, so he got angry and pushed me down to fuck the living hell out of me. Ripped my asshole that fucking bastard."

He grimaced though he hadn't wanted to show any emotion about what he was gonna say.

"That bastard got himself off on humiliating me, broke my glasses and choked me."

He pointed to his neck. "The hickey was from him. Bit down as hard he could, that fucker. Anyway." He crossed his arms back before his chest. "He dragged me outside and wanted to take me home, god knows what else he wanted to do with me."

Literally. She did know.

He paused for a moment to find the right way to phrase his next words. "I snapped out of it when I saw you." 'Though I rather you had not seen me', he added in his head.

"I was really sleepy so he got bored and ran. I think. Somehow found myself near the river later." Shrugging the demon struggled to make his voice and face look as normal as possible.

"The rest I mentioned before. Just wanted to take a sleeping pill and accidentally overdosed. Fell down from the bench and died. That's about the gist of it. Enough explanation?" Turning his head to the side again he added: "Oh, and I fell two or three times, so my knees got fucked too."

It was A LOT to take in just now. Aziraphale had thought of something bad, but not this. He thought it was going to be more in the line of: Crowley went to a party, got drunk, had sex with some guy, overdosed, and the guy ran off. Aziraphale would have been mad if the guy had just ditched him when he was in need of help, but he was beyond furious that someone had hurt Crowley like that deliberately, had hurt HIS Crowley.

It was harder to play it cool now that his only thought was to teach this guy a lesson, a lesson that would make that guy not only repent for what he had done, but also teach him to never even think about something like that again.

"I see. Yes, I believe it is fine like that." It took all his willpower not to loose the already wavering smile. "Well, there is one thing I need to ask. Do you know anything about that guy?"

The demon was more than a little puzzled about the change in Zira's face and tone and how he pushed about the guy, while Crowley just wanted to forget about it. "Uh, not much. He had short hair, pretty athletic and had a tan. I think. I was drunk and it was dark down there, I don't know. He smoked cigarettes; this brand. It's pretty cheap and bad."

Crowley miracled the package into his hand; he had kept the one he had gotten from the dude in a pocket on the inside of his dress. "I think the people that were around that time could tell you more. Why would you be interested in that though?" Not that he didn't feel the vicious intent spilling from the angel, but it felt bad on Crowley's tongue, so he tried to tell himself those were his and not Zira's.

"No reason really. I was just curious, but let's forget about that now. Thank you for trusting me, dear."

Aziraphale took Crowley's hands in his, using it both as something that would calm himself from getting too carried away with thoughts an angel certainly shouldn't have, but also to show that he was thankful to have gotten the information he wanted. There were so so many more things he wanted to ask on the spot, but he'd give the demon a breather before he'd push him to give him more information on other things.

"Don't thank me", Crowley mumbled. "And don't do anything rushed", he added, just in case. Not that he believed Zira would do anything, but he did feel uneasy about it for some reason.

Clearing his throat Crowley slid back down on the couch to relax himself, as far as he possibly could with the angel so close to him, and stared at him from behind his glasses, hoping it wouldn't be too obvious due to his glasses. "Anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"A lot of things like, why did you run out on me yesterday? If it had something to do with me touching you, then why are you ok with it now?" The angel folded his hands in his lap and tipped his head to the side as he watched him relaxing again. Getting rid of the worst of topics first was probably a huge help for it.

"Uh..." The demon started sweating nervously and drummed his fingers against the couch. "Got nothing to do with body contact." Okay, that sounded bad now that he thought about it.

"I was angry, didn't I say so?"

"But, why? What did I do to make you angry? Was it because I tried to take away the wine? If so, then I really don't know what to think about what you told me happened after that." If Crowley really believed he'd take it as an answer and be happy with it, he was bloody wrong. When Crowley wasn't willing to give him an answer he'd think sounded plausible, he'd have to just try harder to get to the truth.

"What? _No!_ Why would that even-" Crowley sighed irritated. "I'm not a fucking child, angel."

"Well? Then what was it? Why were you angry? You try to be all cool and confident, but now you are just avoiding the question. Why is it so hard to answer for you?"

Aziraphale was slowly starting to lose it. If he wasn't going to get anything out of him like this, he'd have to find other ways.

"Well- fuck-" Trying to find words to explain it, or avoid talking about it rather, Crowley flushed deep red and had to wander off with his gaze again, while he waved his arms around in a pitiful attempt to underline that he didn't know how to say it.

"Just spit it out! It can't be worse than what you have already told me!" In the heat of the moment Aziraphale didn't think much of it and cupped the demon's face with his hands, making sure he couldn't avoid it for too long to look at him.

" _I fucking love you, alright_!?"

Crowley basically screeched by now, head as red as a tomato, sweaty and nervous as his plants at home. Realizing what he had said he wriggled out of Zira's grip and stared him in the eyes for a few seconds, struggling to find the right words to unsay what he had said.

"Uh, I mean, I, um-" Distressed he waved his hands around defensively. "I mean, uh, _fuckgodhelpme_ you're my best friend after all??"


	7. On The Run And In For A Surprise

For the first time that day Aziraphale was speechless and stared at Crowley with wide eyes. He would have loved to say that he knew it, but he didn't. For all those years, whenever he had felt a huge amount of love in the area, especially when they were having dinner, or were sitting just at home to share a bottle of wine, it had been Crowley. It should have been so obvious, but he had been too stupid to put two and two together.

"For how long?", he asked, still a bit shocked, not sure if over his stupidity or the confession.

"Garden Eden", the demon grumbled and turned around, hiding his face behind his hands. He felt fluttery and tingly and anxious and horrible, and would have gladly disappeared on the spot. He didn't thought it could be THAT horrible when he'd finally say it, but hell it felt even WORSE. And the holy silence...!

Could he leave now? Could he just go? It wasn't his part to say something now after what he had dropped, but Zira didn't seem like he could bring out any words either. Not that he really felt like he wanted to hear them now.

"Oh my..."

Aziraphale wanted to apologize, to be mad that he hadn't said anything earlier, hug him and curse himself for not picking up on it. In a matter of seconds every single scenario that could have indicated the demon's attraction towards him raced through his mind, and he realized how hard it would have been to have to get turned down on accident each time. 

"Oh Crowley..." The angel wanted to reach out to him again, but he didn't and instead averted his eyes. Somehow it was shameful that a being of love couldn't place that the love he felt was directed towards him. "I'm so sorry. I should have figured it out-"

'Yeah, you should have. I was even trying to tell you yesterday', Crowley wanted to say, but didn't. Wordlessly he stood up and walked to the other side of the room. He didn't know what Aziraphale was trying to tell him, but didn't but he did feel the extreme pang of guilt not only from himself, but from the angel as well.

Shuddering he cleared his throat and turned around with a stoic face. "Demon's aren't supposed to have that, so of course you wouldn't." He shrugged.

"Just cleanse it out your mind, everything. Wouldn't want any black feathers appearing on your wings. So if you'll excuse me, I have stuff to do, people to tempt, to taint, and so on, Hail Satan, yes?"

The demon quickly turned on his heel and walked out. The best idea he had had just yesterday, bail like a goddamn idiot. And bail he did as quickly as he goddamn could. It felt like his heart was gonna rip, which was as pleasurable as dying by overdose. While he looked as calm he could on the outside, not considering how he bit his lip until it bled, and walked with his head hanging low, had his fists clenched and strained every muscle of his being. He felt like garbage on the inside.

He was a goddamn coward, and he wasn't proud of it in the slightest.

Aziraphale had let him go again. He only watched as Crowley left him, just like he had done the day before, less hurried, but still faster than he'd deem normal. Why wasn't his body working with him? Why was his mind screaming at him to get up and follow him to explain that he cared about him more than he had admitted in the past, but his body wouldn't respond?

Zira was afraid of things repeating themselves, he couldn't do it again. Once he felt the presence of the demon being fully gone he released a breath he didn't even know he was holding, before he gripped onto the fabric of his pants, head hung low.

"If only you knew, my dear..."

Meanwhile, at a spring, that was known for its clean, crystal clear water, there were cans, plastic bags and all sorts of bottles laying on the once green grass which color had dulled to a more yellowish, straw like carpet, and the water, while still being clear, had strains of oil floating on it's surface. To put it simple, it had lost it's beauty in what seemed like the blink of an eye, and in it's mids stood a small child at the age of approximately 11 years with it's mouth agape and their head tilted up to the sky, sniffing the chemicals with a small grin.

But... There was something else to it. They weren't only breathing in the toxic fumes that the oil sparingly provided, no. They were looking for oh so much more. In a place like Tadfield there might have been a huge amount of energy they could feed on to become who they were before, but they didn't want the small village just yet. Their eyes were set to another, much bigger prize.

Taking in one last deep inhale their eyes snapped open, head turning into the direction from where the smell of toxins and the smell of pure, raw energy came from. All to eagerly they stepped out of the river and made their way towards London to chase down their target, a trail of oil and dying flowers following them through the fields.

Now how was he gonna fix that? If he walked back now, maybe he could still save it? Should he just pop in there dramatically and go 'Oh it was a lie angel I love you, as my friend' and then run off? Yeah, no. That just sounded horrible.

Drinking was out of the question, Crowley felt like throwing up just thinking about it. And sleep? Well, he now had a phobia of sleeping pills thanks to his dumbass self, so if he couldn't sleep, which he definitely couldn't, he would be fucked.

Grumbling he scratched his head while he, like mechanically programmed into his legs, walked away further and further from the bookstore.

"Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck-!" Should he stand by it? By his words? Or lie? Was now a good time to flee to Alpha Centauri? Mhm, yeah, as if he could do that. Should he just walk back to hell? No, he'd die. For real this time.

Subconsciously he had started opening his hair and started fiddling with it while he walked, redoing the bun and pulling the hairstrands to sit just right. His hands were trembling though and he walked into more than just a few people that were glaring daggers at him, not that he cared much.

Wait, he had left his Bentley at Aziraphale's place. Fuck, he couldn't go back now and get it. Well, he could miracle it. But there wasn't any space where he was walking to miracle the Bentley to. Just what was he even doing?! Since he had fallen and met the angel in Eden, his head was just messed up.

Once they were close enough to the city to see buildings, their mouth started watering, if you could call it that. Thick blobs of black goo dripped from their lips at the sweet sweet smell of burning rubber and exhaust gases that wafted over from the M25. 'What a paradise', they thought as they carelessly stepped onto the street, dragging themselves through the parked cars to the other side and further towards their goal.

It was so much, so much damage to the earth just by one city, but there wasn't time to admire humanity for their doings. They lazily dragged themselves through people, some of them ignoring them, and some of them giving weird looks to the black fluid staining their white clothes, and the occasional audible sniffs that they gave off to keep on track.

"Must be together, just as suspected. Perfect", they muttered under their breath and spat out some more sludge onto the pavement, the energy becoming stronger the closer they were. The only weird thing, that they hadn't picked up on yet, was, that there wasn't just one power source, but two, the more familiar one just pulling them closer to ignore the other.

"Gah, why does it always end up like this?!", Crowley yelled out at the sky, scaring off the people that already tried to avoid him since he gave off a rather negative aura. Rather, what a joke, an extremely intense negative aura rather. He was grinding his teeth like a madman and fumbled with his hair in extreme distress, muttering something to himself while occasionally looking back as if he was followed.

Well, he hoped he was, but he wasn't. He just felt an overwhelming amount of negative energy, not that that was something unusual here, but he guessed it was added because he was right in the middle of it, since he was the one causing all that discomfort he could basically taste in the air, which smelled rotten and dusty and dead.

Distress. There was so much of it here. It was him, the target, the demon, their source of all their need. No sign of the good aura of the angel, but this wasn't any of their concern judging by how they had been told that the two usually stuck to one another. Quickening their pace to get closer they closed their eyes and let the chaotic aura of the demon guide them as they stumbled through the crowd. Their eyes only opened when they were almost chest to back with him, sniffing him with a sigh.

With each step it seemed the distress worsened until Crowley started shuddering, an uncomfortable feeling creeping up and down his spine and making him arch it uncomfortably. Looking back he saw nothing though, except for a few people pointing and staring at him and talking wide eyed as if he was some kinda creep. It looked a bit worse than before.

"Bug off", he grumbled and shooed them away before he turned back around with a long sigh, chewing on his lip. Maybe he should just go home or something and hide away from the stares, because they really started to bother him.

Anger and discomfort. Even better! Parting their lips they stuck their tongue out to let a fresh wave of goo gush out of their mouth. All their head screamed was 'More! Give me more!', and there wasn't a chance they'd deny that voice what it craved.

With a satisfied smile they closed the last bit of space between them and clung to his jacket, taking in a sharp breath which they exhaled shakily. "You smell so good. I never noticed until now that it comes off of you in waves like this. Unnatural for a demon to smell of sadness, but ohhhh, I wished demons would smell more like you."

Confused Crowley turned around and looked behind himself once more, puzzled when he at first didn't see one until he finally thought of looking downwards. He let out a scream and yanked Pollution away from himself, pushing them to the ground with the force he used.

"WHATINTHEBLOODYHELLANDHEAVENFORGOD'SSAKEWHAT?!"

In an instant all other worries left his head when one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse stood behind him, sniffing him, for god's sake, and looking like a ten year old or something.

They made a face as they were pushed down, yet still smiled up at the demon, shifting over from sitting on the ground to crawling on their knees back to him. "Not a very nice way to treat anyone. Didn't your angel teach you anything?" Pollution grabbed onto his leg and pushed themselves up to regain their footing, still a little too overwhelmed by the amount of energy they had to take in.

"Wha-? Get off me you fucking freak!"

Crowley grabbed them by the collar and forcefully yanked them away and up into the air. "What the hell is this?" He moved in closer, hissing warningly. "And don't even mention Aziraphale."

They didn't struggle as they were held up, and instead let themselves hang in the air.

"Ah, that explains the sadness and why you are alone." It was a bother they were so small, but it was worth it to push all suspicion off of them, so they'd just have to play with the cards they were dealt with.

"I am here because I need you, it's part of my existence. God told me to be here, and now I am here." Dipping their head to the side they sighed dreamy, blackened eyes staring back at his.

"Don't lie you little demon I-"

"Hey, let her go you freak!" A guy rushed furiously to Pollution's side and grabbed Crowley's arm with force to make him let go.

"Wha- Hey, stay out of this!" Crowley wriggled himself out of the dude's grip with a little miracle and growled furiously.

"Molesting a child!"

"Someone call the police!"

"Stop him!"

"Oh, the poor thing! Look at how ragged she looks."

"What a horrible man!"

"Alright you little shit, listen to me!" Crowley got a move on, placing Pollution back on the ground. "You got me into this mess, so run, and you better explain to me what the fuck you actually want once we're out of here!"

"Get back here!" A woman was screaming somewhere and a bunch of people started running after him. 'Got it', Crowley thought. 'Everything is fine, but once children are involved, everyone suddenly goes nuts'.

Humans were weird. After all these years of living around them, they still couldn't understand them sometimes. As soon as they stood back on the ground though they grabbed Crowley by the hand, pressing themselves into his side. They might be an immortal entity, but in the body of a child they needed support, though the burst of energy helped greatly to keep up with him once he started running.

"Why are they doing this? God never planned any of this, did she? I thought everyone would just ignore us."

"What am I supposed to know what god thinks, she kicked me and you lot out of heaven!" It felt weird to have such a tiny hand wrapped around his. Though Pollution could slightly hold up with him, he cursed and picked them back up with a swift motion, placing them on his shoulders. "Hold tight!"

A little miracle and he ran faster than before. Another one, and it felt like he was driving instead of running.

Pollution clung to him and didn't think about letting go any time soon, but turned their head to watch the people running after them. They really didn't get why humanity cared. Well, it would be the end of them all eventually, so that must have been it. They must have sensed that they were one of the horsemen. It was the only explanation that seemed to make sense.

The shouting grew quieter and quieter until he could only hear the wind while he rushed through the streets and way out of london. He wanted to be safe that no one would go after him. God, he had to erase all those memories now so next time he'd come back there, he wouldn't be searched as a child molester. Actually, it would be more fun to just twist the image of him they had in their minds, that way a little chaos would break out. Once he was sure he was far out enough he slowed down until he got to a stop, breathing heavily and cursing.

Once the demon slowed down to a hold they turned back to face forward, pushing themselves up to rest their knees on his shoulders so it was easier to lean over his head to look at him, pointing out the obvious. "You took me with you... also, you are carrying me."

"I know that i'm carrying you! I put you on there!" Crowley quickly loosened the child's grip on him and heaved them off his back to set them down on the ground in front of him. Squatting down, so he could easily look them in the eyes, he held a tight grip on their shoulders and gave them a furious look.

"Alright you stinky brat. Now you explain to me nice and slow what the hell you're doing in the middle of london, looking like a child and goddamn sniffing me, making people think i'm just about ready to rape you. Huh? Got an answer for me?", he pinched their cheeks and flashed them an angry smile.

"I told you, it's my destiny to go to you and get back to how I had been. It will take time for War, Famine and me to be ready for the last war to destroy earth for good. I don't know where the others are, but I am supposed to be here with you."

Pollution took a glance at the hands on their shoulders before reaching up to hold onto his wrists and then shift their gaze back up. "I believe it was you who had built that big street, yes? It was a huge help for me."

"Stop going on about destiny. That shit doesn't exist, alright? You gotta hold your own, or you sink, easy as that." Sighing Crowley stood back up, patting his hands against his trousers as if he had touched something disgusting.

"Don't follow me, alright? I'm gonna go home and sleep and I DON'T need a brat by my side to sing a lullaby to. I've got bad memories with that."

"Are you sure that destiny doesn't exist? I might look like a child, but I know more than you think. Not about humanity, but about so many other things." Dropping their hands back to their side they took a big step forward, standing chest to chest with him.

"You won't get rid of me. You can try to, but I will always be there. I can smell you, I know where you are, even if you feel safe. Even if I'd lose you, I will find the angel, and soon I'd have you again too. So play your part or I'll make you play it."

"Okay, listen to me you stinky, little, snot nosed pipsqueek. I don't care who you think you are, how old you are, what you look like or if you're trying to threaten me. I'm making one thing clear, right here and right now. Keep your hands of MY angel, alright? Keep 'em in your nose and mouth and go find a playmate. I don't care. Someone will take you in if you'll stop being bratty for one moment. So shoo."

He flicked their forehead before he turned around and started walking away, concentrating on miracling his image differently into the mind's of the people who had seen him with the child.

If he thought some words were enough to keep them away, he was wrong. They promised to follow him, and they would follow for as long as they needed to. "Ohhhh, sounds like someone is being bratty themselves! Don't want to share your 'playmate' with me? Because I really want to play with them too, and I will if you aren't willing to."

Pollution had no time reacting to anything that indicated that they weren't wanted and walked fast enough to keep up with him, attempting to grab at him some times, but mostly just brushed their hand on different parts of his side to keep a physical connection to him.

"One more word and you'll regret it", Crowley growled without stopping, only glaring back Pollution.

"Or what? Gonna call for someone to help you with a 'little kid'? I thought you were a demon." Pollution stuck their tongue out at him, a small smirk making itself present.

"I rather thought about this-!" Crowley immediately whipped around and pushed Pollution to the ground, with one hand tickling their side, with the other their feet.

"What are you-?"

At first there was nothing, they weren't born to feel emotions other than negative ones after all, but slowly there was something. Confused about what they were feeling they at first frantically looked around and tried to suppress the something that built up at the back of their throat, they couldn't hold it for long though.

Laughing. Pollution the master of fucking with people to destroy their planet further, was laying on the ground laughing.

"What- what are you do- doing?!", they asked between laughs as they reached out to grip onto the demon's jacket, not sure if to push away or pull in further.

Lucky for him that trick even worked on demons. He kept going for a little while longer until the young demon really looked a little out of it, before he stopped and took a step back. "I got it, you won't leave me alone, so I'll take you in, alright? Just so long until you can fuck off on your own again."

It actually didn't sound like too bad a plan since that way he had an excuse to not run back into the angel for the time being, and had something to distract his mind on. Too bad he couldn't hurt kids though, 'cuz he really wanted to for the remarks that brat had made.

The laughter slowly died down after Crowley had removed his hands from them, but they remained clinging onto him for some time longer, wiping small black tears out of their eyes. "How did you do that? I haven't had something like that before. The only time I laughed was at chaos and destruction... You really must be powerful, huh?"

At hearing that he'd take them in, Pollution nodded maybe a bit too eager but kept their expression neutral. "A wise choice."

"Children like it, it's called tickling. You normally do it to mock someone. Coming from down there, 'course you wouldn't know it", Crowley explained, sounding a little defeated. "Oh boy, we got a long way to go."

Sighing he rubbed the back of his neck and looked around. "How long have you been on earth yet? Got a home or something, or basically anything you call your own?"

Pollution nodded slowly as it got explained to them, but just shrugged it off. It didn't feel like they were being mocked, so it didn't matter.

"Home? The world is my home. I am everywhere I want to be but... My favourite spot is down by a river in a village close by. I have a small place there I stay at occasionally, if that counts." They thought about it as they looked up into the sky as if all the answers they needed were written up there. "Where do you want to go? You live here somewhere, aren't you going to take me there?"

"Uh, honestly, no."

He didn't really wanna go there. What if Aziraphale would come over and try to check on him and see him walking hand in hand with one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which was his least worry, he basically just didn't want to encounter the angel.

"Let's just go to your place. See if we'll settle down there." He wanted to drive his bentley, but his Bentley was too obvious if Zira would come around to where he was staying. Crouching down the demon sighed and waved for them to come closer.

"Giddy-up. You're gonna show me where the hell this place is."


	8. A Witch And Two Demons

At the invitation of not having to walk themselves, the smaller demon let go of the taller one and went to climb on his back. Once it felt right how they were sitting, Pollution pointed in the direction of where they needed to go. "It's in that direction, close to that place the end was supposed to happen in. If you get close, you'll know I go there often."

"Huh, direction of Tadfield, eh? As if every supernatural being gathers there." The demon turned his head just slightly to give the young child a warning look. "Don't move too much, or i'm gonna drop you."

He hadn't done this in a while, but he quickly cloaked himself from human eyes with a miracle and spread his wings. Giving off a content sigh he needed one moment of flapping them to adjust, before he pushed himself off the ground with a heavy push. Mhm, he hadn't done that in ages since it reminded him of heaven, but it was their best option now. He wasn't gonna walk, obviously.

If they had the ability to be scared or worried, they probably would have been that, but since they couldn't, the only form of reacting was to run their hand up the side of one wing. "Hm, what a shame I am the one you go back to it for."

It wasn't quite directed to anyone specifically, more of an observational statement to themselves. Nonetheless, Pollution wasn't going to move much besides the occasional hand gesture towards their 'home'.

"Hands off my wings", Crowley just snarled as he had lost balance for a moment due to the weird sensation on them. The rest of the flight went relatively easy though, he only made fun of a passenger on an airplane they crossed path with by uncloaking himself for her so she got irritated and started yelling that there was someone outside, causing an uproar on the plane.

He landed beside a river which was polluted beyond belief, reeked of chemical waste and had plastic baggies, and even a microwave floating in it. "This is your home?", he asked a little irritated, looking around and grimacing at the dire smell the area gave off.

"Where've you been sleeping? On that bench?" Raising an eyebrow he pointed to a run down bench that was sticky from god knows what and rotten.

As soon as the demon was back on the ground Pollution jumped off of his shoulders and back over to the water, where they already had spent so much time breathing in the toxic fumes that they had created over the time they were back on earth. At the question they simply nodded, letting the water that they scooped up drip through their fingers.

"Yes, this is my home. What else did you think I had? Chaos is my home."

"I'm not even gonna say anything about that", the demon mumbled to himself and clasped his hands together. With a quick miracle the bench was back to an ordinary state, and most of the water was back to a more clean state.

"For one, stop shitting on the area while i'm around. I don't mind a bit of chaos, but I ain't gonna live in a rat's nest, alright? Would make me feel like i'm back in hell." He walked over to the bench and sat down, patting the space next to him to gesture them to sit down. He didn't mention that he also just didn't like pollution since it meant killing the earth, which he had just fought to protect from Armageddon.

With wide eyes they stared at the once murky water that had been barely see through with the work of their destructive magic and things they had picked out of the air. With an almost pained whine they pulled their hands away from it and got back to their feet, turning around huffing "You are destroying the beauty I have brought to this place! It's not easy to create the perfect balance between too much and not enough!"

Despite feeling a little unhappy about everything being too clean, they turned to sit down next to Crowley, crossing their arms, mumbling something under their breath along the lines of 'When I'm at your home, I'll show you how it feels'.

"Yeah, yeah, shush." He smirked at them. "Every child's gotta learn that if they make a mess, they gotta clean it up again." Thinking about his words he leaned back and looked at the sky. "Guess next time i'll let you clean then."

"Keep dreaming. If you ever see me clean something up, you will know that things aren't going to end well."

Shrugging he turned back to them and gave them a serious look again. "One things for sure though, we're not gonna sleep on this bench and live like we're homeless." He still hoped that they would get bored of him before night fell since he had no idea where to go for the time being.

They were still just as annoyed looking around their once perfect home, but had to ignore it to not be tempted into getting everything to their liking again. Sighing in defeat they casted their eyes downwards to their hands, smearing oil between their fingers. Although Pollution was highly disappointed they still scooted closer to the other and rested their head on his side.

"If you don't like it here, then give me an option where we could go instead."

"Anywhere. We could always just find a hotel or something." The weird way they clung to Crowley irritated him greatly and he backed away slighty, instinctively. "Stop grabbing onto me", he grumbled and made a slight attempt to push them away.

"First you destroy my home and then you push me away, thanks."

With crossed arms they pushed themselves over to the other side of the bench, pulling their knees up to their chest to rest their head on them. Since they had been with the other demon there were weird things going on inside of them. For so long they had felt nothing, they weren't supposed to feel much, but now....

It was irritating and they hated it, all of it. What did god do to them? Were they going to die for real if this got worse? Was this part of her plan? Hopefully.

"I didn't-!" Fuck his soft spot for kids. Groaning at his own willingness to give in, he reached out and started stroking through little Pollution's hair. They felt confused and weirded out, with a hint of something that could possibly be described as fear.

"Let's try again. What is with the other three? Have you any idea why you're here and why like this?" He gestured along their body.

Even if they didn't want to show any positive reaction to the gesture, they leaned up into the touch. It kinda felt nice, they wouldn't voice that though since it wasn't how they should feel. They shouldn't even feel to begin with.

Giving a shrug at the question Pollution only very, very slightly shifted their eyes to the other's direction. "I don't know. Death is always around, but War and Famine... No idea. We are still weak and take years to grow back to our strength, who knows how long it'll take. Depends on how long humanity takes to fully destroy itself."

"Huh, so War and Famine aren't even back on map yet. Takes some burdens off of me. I still don't get though why you'd think i'd be your destiny. You should know that I got kicked out of hell. If you stick around me too long that'll rub suspicion on you. I've never had anything to do with you lot before either. Though you four are the demons who started wandering earth some time after I did."

Crowley shrugged and looked at them expectantly.

"They wouldn't suspect me doing anything, hell is more stupid than anyone would think. I'm not suspicious to them, and even if they were to care what I do for whatever reason, I can always reason it with using you to get the new Armageddon going and learning more about humanity through you. Using the enemy for your own good, you get me?"

They relaxed a bit and leaned back, closing their eyes.

"Oh, yeah, I know that much", the demon muttered while they kept going on about the stupidity of hell. He had decieved hell, exaggerated on his reports and how they had taken it when he had said they should communicate through technology...? He still feared they would just suddenly contact him through the radio while his favourite song was on.

He had wanted to smash his tv when he had watched Mary Poppins and suddenly instead of Mary and Bert there had been some kid with antennas and Hastur. Hastur seemed to have really taken a liking to him, now that he thought about it. He could still strangle him for that. He had just gotten into the songs and had been ready to jump up and scream the lyrics, when it all had been ruined.

A bit of a smug smile settled down on Pollution's face as they thought about their achievements.

"I might not look like it, but I am not that stupid. I don't know emotions well and what people do besides destroying their environment, but I know about hell's business and how to please them without doing much."

He had only half listened to Pollution, but once they stopped talking he forced himself out of his head. "Mhm, yeah, yeah." He cleared his throat and stared into the water when he heard something rumbling.

Sounded like thunder, but he could be wrong. Frowning he looked up, but since it looked just as grey and dark as before, he shrugged it off. "What are your plans now, brat?"

"Wait until signs come up for me to leave you again. I have done my part for now." At the rumbling they tilted their head up towards the sky, starting to feel uneasy. Rain didn't appear to be harmful from past experiences, yet it left their skin tingling for some time. In some places it was even quite nice, when the place was polluted enough, there were hard doubts though that this one would be like that.

"It looks like it's going to-", before they could finish their sentence there was a thick drop of rain hitting their cheek, making them twitch at the sensation. "...rain soon."

"What?"

The moment Crowley turned around to look at Pollution it poured down like heaven went loose. Or something IN heaven went loose rather.

"Fuck!" He quickly jumped up, the rain growing stronger by the second and thunder rumbling like lightning was gonna follow soon. He pulled his jacket up further and wiped rain from his forehead that started to gather the longer he stood there.

"Well, don't just sit there! Come here!" He held one hand out for the child and looked at them grim.

Crowley didn't need to tell them twice to get over to him and shield themselves from the rain even a little bit. The rain was way too clean, the water that had already soaked their hair and shirt washing out some of the stains the oil and their own gooey spit had left. Desperately they pressed up to him and hid under the shield from the rain the jacket provided.

"Get me out of here. This rain isn't good."

He grumbled something at how the child pushed up to him and quickly got out of his jacket. "There, shield yourself properly."

Now where should he go...He had to think quickly since he wanted to get out of the rain and had a squirming child at his side. There was only one place he could think off. He quickly walked over to the house and rang the doorbell.

Twitching, Pollution wrapped themselves up in the jacket that was handed to them and followed Crowley carefully to make sure not to be hit by too much more rain. Not too long after he had rung the doorbell there was a voice shouting inside and shuffling coming from the other side, before the door was opened.

Wasting no time Pollution slipped through the small opening into the house and pressed themselve into the driest, dustiest corner of the small room. Meanwhile Anathema watched the footprints leading into her home before she turned to face the demon with a look of concern and confusion, it was still hard to live without knowing everything happening at any time.

"Hey, come back here brat-", he shouted out after Pollution and wanted to grab them, but they slid past him and into the house. Sighing he rubbed his temples before he finally looked at Anathema, who spoke in a confused tone of voice.

"...Hey, what are you doing here and why is there a kid with you?"

"I picked up that shitty brat on the streets and couldn't get rid of them. Can I get in? I'm soaked and that damn brat has my jacket." The demon lifted his arms a little to show off how the shirt stuck to his arms while he wrung out his hair and wiped the water from his nose that kept running down and into his mouth while he spoke.

With a shake of her head she stepped aside to let him in, eyes already back on the mess Pollution left on the floor. "You can stay until it stops raining, no problem. Make sure to keep an eye on the kid. I didn't spend the entire day cleaning up to do it again tomorrow."

It wasn't that big of a deal really, just some dirt she could clean off easily, but she couldn't be bothered to deal with that now.

"How did you find the kid anyway? Didn't take you for dealing with kids often", she said as she turned around to go over to the small kitchen to get herself a coffee. "Want some coffee too or some tea? Or like, does your kid want something warm?"

The demon nodded as reponse and snapped his fingers to make the dirt disappear that Pollution had dragged in. From the living room a familiar soft voice called.

"Uh, honey? What is that child doing here?"

"Just shoo them away if they bother you", Crowley yelled back at Newt before Anathema even had a chance to answer.

The demon had quickly walked in once the woman had stepped aside and snapped another time to dry himself off. Running one hand through his hair he frantically searched for the small demon.

"Hey, brat! Want hot cocoa?"

Giving Anathema a quick glance he already walked further inside the house to search for brat and kitchen, waving at Newt with a stoic look, who wore a weirdly old fashioned pajama and was watching tv. "I'll take coffee. Put a shot in it."

From the other side of the house Pollution shouted as an answer: "Anything that's hot works", before they shut up again. Anathema nodded though no one saw it and went on to get some cups to pour their drinks into once they were done, all while thinking about what was going on.

Pollution had long found themselves a place they prepared to spend the night covered by Crowley's jacket. They were silently sitting under the bed, watching blankly how the blackened drops of water that dripped out of their hair created a small puddle in front of them. It was cold and wet, and they only needed some comfort of what was familiar to them until the feeling the rain had left on their skin left them.

"Uh, can someone please fill me in?"

"Nothing much, big one. You can just lie back down and watch ...uh...."

Crowley looked at the screen.

"What even is that? A romance movie?"

Before Newt could answer, Crowley turned back around and walked over to Anathema to take the cups from her. "Where the fuck are you, pipsqueek? I ain't gonna play nanny for you and walk it to your bed!" Looking at Anathema he blew on his coffee once before taking a a sip.

"You asked who the brat is. It's a demon basically. Pollution, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, end of the world, climate change", he made a dramatic gesture as he mocked the names. "I don't get excactly why, how, and what, but they really got me into trouble. If you hear about a child molester in the papers, ignore it."

At the name Anathema made a face and handed the cup for Pollution over to him so she could sit down next to Newton and didn't have to stand there and wait.

"Pollution? You are meaning to tell me that you are dragging around one of the horsemen? Really now? Why did you bring them here? Do you want us to get rid of them for you or something?" She didn't want to believe it that that kid that ran past her to hide in her house was going to destroy earth some day.

As on cue Pollution stood in the hallway, clutching the jacket tightly as they walked up to Crowley to snatch their cup from him. They kept staring down to watch the trail they pulled along with them and walked to the nearest wall, sliding down it until they sat on the floor, pressed up against it.

"Goddamnit, at least dry yourself off." Another miracle and Pollution too was dry.

Newt slid further over to Anathema once she sat and cuddled up to her. Crowley watched that in disgust, and with a sharp pain panging through his heart.

"Yeah, no. You couldn't get rid of them if you wanted to. Only if you'd rid the world of pollution. Also, I ain't dragging them around, they're in firm belief that I am their destiny. Don't ask me."

Crowley still stood there, eyes fixed on the tv screen so he didn't have to watch Newton and Anathema. "Oh, and you won't mind us staying at your house for a while, do you?"

Grumbling something under their breath they took a huge gulp from their drink and regretted it instantly, hissing silently. They didn't want to talk and besides, it didn't feel right being in this environment.

Crowley looked over to Polly when he heard them hissing. "Oh for fuck's-"

Walking over to them he squatted down, took the mug from their hands and pointed at it. "If you don't want to do any miracling, at least blow on it. Alright? Blow." He blew over it to show them what to do before giving the cup back. Grimacing he stood back up and walked back over to Anathema.

At the affection from her boyfriend the witch moved in closer to cuddle him back as she talked to her guest. "Potentially, you could stay, but I don't understand why. Sure, it's raining like crazy now, but how long are you thinking about staying here?"

It was for the best that she didn't try to further dig into the whole ordeal these two had, and for now it was hard enough to cope with, that a dangerous death machine was sitting not even 5 meters away from her. 

"I don't know, ask them. Once they decide they'll leave me alone, i'll be off to somewhere."

"Ok, no. I am willing to let you stay for some time, but if your only reason is because they don't leave you, then I'll have to tell you, I am not going to let you stay. Why aren't you going to get help from someone? Got some problems with your angel, or why are you coming to me?"

The witch shifted the cup she held from one hand to the other as she watched him closely, not wanting to miss a single reaction of her words to his aura. Pollution meanwhile was blowing a couple times to cool their drink down and took small sips to test if it was still too hot or not. They were thankful, but the words hadn't left them, not that they felt like they needed to say it.

"Shaddap. I'll leave soon enough, alright? I can just throw them to Adam or something once they've grown a bit more accustomed to the world. He's the antichrist, and a child. He could keep them in check." Crowley turned around and downed the rest of the coffee, putting the cup down on a shelf. "Where can we sleep?"

"If you say so." Anathema accepted for now, but would have to go and ask later again about the reason for it. With a still doubtful expression she sat the mug down on the table in front of her and untangled herself from Newton to drag herself down the hallway to a spare room she didn't have any use for really, and just pushed some stuff into to make a makeshift guest bedroom.

"You can use that room, if you don't want to share one room, one of you can have the couch too. Whatever suits you better."

"Yeah, no, doubt they'd let me have my peace anyway." The taller demon yawned and walked inside, looking around before he flopped onto the mattress. "Get the child here, don't let them roam around, they'll sully your whole house." He stretched and got out of his shoes with his feet.

Crowley shot her another warning look though before he pushed his face into the mattress. "Don't fucking talk to Aziraphale about this. Don't mention i'm here, don't mention the brat, got it? You've never even seen me."

"I won't talk as long as you'll play nice and won't attract too much attention to yourself. Tomorrow we are gonna continue this conversation, for today, I am done", Anathema said, and turned to leave and get Pollution.

Maybe there had been something gone wrong, maybe it had something to do with the kid, or maybe it was nothing. She'd find out, that'd be a promise.

Before she opened her mouth to say anything to the child, they put down the empty cup and walked past her with a blank expression to go to the room she had come from.

Crowley didn't even turn as he heard quiet footsteps walking into the room. "Come 'ere", he grumbled into the mattress, getting rid of his glasses while he was at it. Uncomfortable to lie on.

"The corner here seems nice. I'll take that."

Pollution tossed the jacket up on the bed and stumbled over to the furthest spot away from it. Sleeping in a bed for once wasn't a bad idea, but judging by how things were going already, there'd be a lot of bitching if they'd get even one drop of oil on it, and so they rather sat quietly in the dark to wait for the day to go by.

"Yeah, alright, whatever. Then sleep in the corner, more for me", he mumbled before he closed his eyes and dozed off almost immediately.

The demon had weird dreams. About Aziraphale, and Armageddon, and rather unpleasant things. So he twisted and turned in his sleep and mumbled something incoherent. Until morning would come, and he would wake up.


	9. Breakfast And Bonding

For not even a second during the night did Pollution close their eyes. They obediently sat in their spot and stared at a spot on the wall.

The only time when they did move was when they felt the uneasiness that radiated off of Crowley, and they turned their head to stare at him instead with their head limply hanging tilted to the side.

Crowley was woken up by loud clattering from somewhere in the house and growled some insults as he groggily pushed himself up.

It was like he had forgotten all about yesterday since he just looked around a little confused and walked past the smaller demon to lean onto the doorframe and stare into the direction of where the noise came from. "

"Who the fuck is making so much noise early in the morning?!"

"I AM, AND I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT BECAUSE THIS IS MY HOUSE! TAKE IT, OR LEAVE IT!", came the answer from the other side of the house, promptly followed by more noise and a few curses.

The smaller demon tilted their head further as the other walked by, straining their neck painfully since they refused to move. If they were going to be left alone, they could build their own little paradise again and not be disturbed while doing it.

Wait, her house? He needed a moment before he realized that he was at the witch's place.

"You still got guests! Could be a little more considerate!", he yawned and popped his spine before looking around until he found the young demon in one corner of the room. Crowley waved for them to follow. "Let's go."

Putting on his glasses he turned around and walked into the direction of where he thought the kitchen was. "Did you at least lay the table for us to _oowoah-_!"

He walked into the room and stopped with a wide open mouth.

The young witch was sitting half naked on the counter with only an unbuttoned shirt on and the rest of her clothes scattered over the floor next to her. With one hand she gripped onto the counter and the other one was leaving scratches down Newton's back.

It took her a moment to register the two demons standing in the doorway, but when she did, she gave them a tiny frown.

"First you complain about what I do in my home, and now you demand breakfast? It stopped raining, I could kick you right back out now."

Pollution stood next to Crowley, but didn't show any reaction to the scene presented to them. It wasn't like they didn't know what was happening, it was more like they couldn't see the appeal of it, and thus weren't giving a shit.

Tilting their head from side to side they thought for a second before dragging themselves over to the fridge to grab something that wasn't the usual nothingness they consumed.

Newton was the last one to realize their presence. He had still covered Anathema in kisses until she had spoken up. Looking up he flushed deep red. He was only wearing boxers, his shirt scattered somewhere else with his girlfriend's clothes.

He didn't even dare to speak, only quickly tugged at Anathema's shirt to cover her enough, and turned to the side a little ashamed.

"Yeah, alright, no. We're gonna go eat somewhere else-", Crowley started to say when Pollution already strudded over to the fridge.

He didn't know if he should think this was funny, or feel with Newton since he wouldn't want anyone to see Aziraphale either.

Okay, bad thought. Very, very bad thought.

"What the- Come back here!" When he realized that the child already rummaged through the fridge he yanked them away by the arm, but let them have the milk carton they had taken out.

"Alright, we're off. You just enjoy your alone time.“

Waving dramatically he smirked first at Newton, then Anathema.

„Go get her, big one. And don't leave too deep of scratches on his back, witch. I won't miracle that away for you if he starts yapping about it."

Turning around he dragged the smaller one along with him and opened the front door. "Next time make sure you really are alone. Wouldn't want the antichrist to see you, would you?"

Anathema struggled herself into a comfortable position that allowed her to cover herself without getting off from where she sat. It was not how she thought the demon was going to react at all.

She had suspected him to act literally any other way than to grab the kid and drag them out while throwing some words into the room.

'He isn't an ordinary demon after all', she reasoned the reaction in her head, and nodded at him slowly. "Yeah yeah, see you later I guess."

Meanwhile Pollution gave Crowley an indescribable look of utter confusion, and a hint of annoyance at being dragged along ,until they resorted to gulping down the milk they were able to get before having been separated from the fridge.

They didn't open their mouth until they were dragged outside the house. "Why did you do that? We could have gotten breakfast there. Why are we going out now?"

"You wouldn't wanna get caught either having sex, would you?" Crowley just stared them dead in the eye until he realized how weird that sounded while talking to a child.

"Why would it be a problem? Are humans not open about this? I´ve seen people like that in the forest a few times." Pollution looked genuinely confused about what all the fuss was about and watched him expectantly.

"Depends on where you go. Some people do that as a job, some out of fun, some do it like them", he explained while he got out his phone to search for a restaurant. Was there even one in Tadfield?

"Anyway, i didn't want to see them do that, not my cup of tea", he shrugged and decided on a small little cafe,

"They looked like they were.... happy? Could you call it that?"

"They were happy, 'till we came in. Humans call that love."

He shuddered himself as he said that. A bad subject to explain right now while sorrow planted itself deep down inside him.

"If two people are in love, they usually don't want others to see them, simplified. Though some also just want exactly that for the rush of it."

They hummed once in acknowledgment and let Crowley lead them to the cafe he had picked out for them, dropping the milk carton they were holding somewhere along the way.

It was hard to wrap their head around everything they had been told just now after neglecting all those subjects for so many years, yet somehow it made sense, even when it didn't. If love would be this strong, and it could manipulate others...

"Can you make someone love you in a way that they would give up everything for you, without them being able to say no?"

The demon was a bit taken aback by the question at first, but gave it an honest thought. "No."

At the cafe he opened the door for Pollution and followed them in, and to a table. "If someone loves you enough to give up everything for you, then they do that deliberately. You can't make anyone love you, in no way."

He shrugged as he gave them the menu card to read through.

"The nearest state to what you described would be Stockholm syndrome. It's when you fall in love with someone who's hurt you. But that can't be called much love, it's more a mental condition."

He tipped his head before he sighed and grimaced at them. "Why are you even asking me that? I'm a demon. Go find someone else to bother about subjects like that."

Taking the offered menu card they scanned it with their eyes in silence. So love wasn't anything usable for them, how sad. It seemed like a powerful weapon if they could obtain it, but judging by it, they would never be able to feel love.

At the question of why they asked him they lifted their gaze from the menu.

"You know a lot about it. Are you in love? Otherwise I couldn't understand why you are so familiar to it... Also there are things you said that indicate it-"

It was simply their observation, purely them speaking their mind.

The taller demon stopped them though by quickly pressing his hand on their mouth. "Don't even speak further. We're not going there, got it? Order something, and eat. Don't sniff around where your little nose doesn't belong."

His smirk was wavering and itching to drop into an angry frown, but the looks he got alone from shutting them up that way made him refrain from letting the charade drop. Reatreating his hand he waved for a waitress.

"Hey, we want to order something!"

The only way he could have made it more obvious he meant 'yes' was by him jumping up on the table and giving them every detail of who, and why. Funny that a demon was capable of feeling those things. They could only dream about trying to understand.

"You aren't being too good at hiding it, but since you are being so NICE to keep me with you, I'll give you a pass."

"I swear I'll strangle-!"

After being called for, a young woman came rushing over with a notepad in her hands, a cheerful smile on her face. "Ah, excuse me if I kept you waiting, What can I do for you?"

Once the woman stood before him, he couldn't speak further, so he only started grinding his teeth and made a handgesture for Pollution to start.

"Well, what do you want to eat, brat?", he hissed with as innocent a smile as he could bring up.

Flashing him an innocent smile themselves they turned to the waitress and pointed at a page of the menu, not just a meal. They just tapped the bottom of the page before sliding their finger up and down slowly.

"I want that."

Doubtful the woman squatted down a bit to be more on eye level with Pollution and stilled their hand. "Sweety, are you sure you can eat all that? I think it'd be too much for you."

Stubbornly Pollution pulled a face and continued to move their hand more furious over the page.

"I want THAT."

The woman's eyes shifted over to Crowley, as if to ask him if he was going to let it happen.

He sighed annoyed and took the menu from their hands. "They mean they want that."

He picked something from the bottom row. It was basically vegetarian sandwiches. "And a hot cocoa. Add some marshmallows so the 'sweet' thing might cool their tantrum."

Pushing up his glasses he quickly scanned the menu himself before he decided on it. "Bring me a beer." He pointed to the section for it before he turned away disinterested to give Pollution a warning sign.

"Alright, I'll be with you again shortly." The waitress scribbled down the orders before she backed off to leave them alone.

Gritting their teeth Pollution clenched their fists before they laid back with their arms crossed. "Why can't you let me have what I wanted? I wanted all of it. You have to care for me."

"I ain't gonna pay for your ass to just take a bite and then leave it. I'm the one paying, so shut up and take it."

If he was being a bitch about it, so could they. It wasn't hard to find things to get the older demon to lose his composure.

"You know... Would be sad if something bad were to happen to you. I hope you are just looking out for me with the way you act."

Crowley raised an eyebrow at the comment of the smaller one."Or what. What do you want to do to me, brat, huh? Tell me how imaginative you are. Because how I know hell, you're just gonna tell me the usual, aren't you?"

Growling he turned to look to the counter to see if they were already working on their orders.

"I'm giving you a hint here. Drink your cocoa and enjoy the marshmallows that I paid EXTRA to get in there, yeah?"

"I won't do anything to you in particular. My imagination is mostly telling me to…", they left a dramatic pause and pretended to think about it before just smiling sweetly. "Pay your little friend a visit. Would be a shame if something were to happen to the reason you went against your kind, huh?"

Just as they were about to continue, the woman returned with their orders and placed them down in front of them, mostly turning towards Pollution. " Here you go, enjoy your meal!"

Before she left again she stopped to reach out to ruffle through the smaller demon's hair happily, but pulled her hand back almost instantly as she touched them when she felt something sticky on her hand.

When she looked at what she had on it, her hand was stained with an indescribable fluid. She gave a weird look at it, and an even weirder one to Pollution.

Under closer examination she could, for the first time, see the ominous stains on the kid's clothes and pretty much the entirety of their body. Shocked they turned around to face the older demon, her happy expression shifting into a more angry one.

"What are you _doing_ to your daughter? Look at her! She needs to be taken care of better!"

Crowley had to refrain himself again when the waitress came closer. Opening his beer with a snap of his fingers against the cap he gave the waitress a sigh and turned to Pollution. "What did you do now, Polly?"

He accentuated the name that he used for the first time.

"Are you going around giving people scares again? I am so", he accentuated the so and gave the waitress an apologetic smile. "So sorry for their behaviour. They've been like that for a while now."

One wriggle of his fingers and the child was back to being clean. No goo on the waitress' hand, no stains on their clothes and their skin. "Did they put something in their hair again?"

"Uhm, I-No, no. I just thought... "

The waitress blinked a couple times as they stared at the kid that sat in front of her, perfectly clean with no smudges of grime whatsoever.

Dumbfounded the woman struggled to get an answer out and simply pulled her hands to her chest, babbling out an apology and quickly vanished again to spare her from the embarrassment. She really needed a break from this job.

Pollution was, even for their standards, unusually silent and only made their move to grab their food, turning it around in their hands a bit to examine it before shoving it in their mouth to take a huge bite out of it.

If the rain had felt weird on them, they felt dangerously exposed now as they sat there without any traces of the chemicals that had clung to their body. This wasn't how they were supposed to be, their clothes weren't supposed to be hurting their eyes if they looked at them in the sunlight that came through the window.

Swallowing hard to get the mouthful of sandwich down they glared down at their reflection in the knife that was brought to them as well, almost choking on their spit when they saw someone staring back at them they had never seen before.

Gritting his teeth Crowley took a large gulp of the beer and grimaced. He didn't usually drink grimy stuff like that. He rather liked to drink whiskey or something, but not...well, this.

"You've already gotten me into trouble once, don't make it a second time. Look at all the attention we got again."

The demon pointed around them and shot the child a cautionary look. He flinched though at the wave of uncomfort and...something else, something strange he felt from them.

"Hey, you listening to me?"

As they were being spoken to Pollution simply looked up to signalize that they were, in fact, listening, and just not responding. This wasn't right, nothing felt right. It all felt like a huge part of them had been ripped away from them with no effort.

Sucking in a breath through their teeth as if they were in pain they stared back down at the table, shoving the rest of their food in their mouth to keep themselves struggling with anything else than the sickening feeling of being out of place.

"Hey! Look at me!"

The taller demon grabbed them by the chin and forced them to look at him.

"Don't look like you're in pain and then shut off", he hissed and moved in closer, setting his beer aside to start checking up on them.

He wasn't obligated to do anything, he didn't even want to, or felt like it was needed. But somehow he still did it. He would have wondered why, if his mind hadn't been elsewhere.

" _Don't-_ "

They weakly struggled in his hold, but eventually gave up and let him do whatever, even grabbing onto him a tad bit.

The child didn't want to be taken care of in any way, even slight concern they didn't feel like they deserved, nor wanted. It felt horrible to be like this, and they only wanted to go back to being alone at the river they had made their home.

Was this a punishment? Did god lead them astray? It wasn't their fault they were degraded to be this hollow shell that had become dependent on the toxins and had stained heaven with their destructive nature.

"Shit-"

Crowley growled and looked around the room, hearing the whispers and feeling the stares burning. Standing up he sat back down next to them and hugged them lightly, probably looking very pitiful doing that.

"Listen to me, what is it?", he whispered, loosening his grip on their chin to rather search for their cup and pull it closer.

"Drink somehing, I don't know, Aziraphale always says marshmallows cheer him up. Just do anything except look all whiny and tearful."

Despite them not wanting any of this they took the offered cup and drank some of it, and eventually pushed their face into his chest to be surrounded by darkness.

"It doesn't feel right. Too clean. Not enough pollution", Polly mumbled into the fabric of his shirt, hands twitching slightly. "I don't want to be around humans like this. _I_ _can't_ -"

Mumbling something he started ruffling through their hair before he got an idea. He waved for the waitress. "Hey, bring me a glass of water!"

Crowley waited patiently until he got it before he made sure that no one would see him miracling a thermos flask. Shoving the glass over to the child in his arms he gave her a nudge.

"Pollute it. But for satan's sake, make it not too obvious."

Surprised, Pollution lifted their gaze to watch him until they were sure he wasn't going to pull anything on them. Crowley was being nice to them, he was helping.

Without thinking about it further they sat down the cup to grab the glass with both hands and held it close to their chest, keeping their eyes trained on it. Not too much later their magic seeped into the water, dying the clear substance into a thick liquid that could easily pass off as watered down rubber.

It was so much better already.

To top it off they reached into the glass to scoop some of the goo up and rub some of it on their face and into their hair, trying to not make it too obvious to see though.

Sighing happily they took the thermos and poured the rest of it in there, closing their eyes in relief.

"...Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It's just bothersome to have to deal with a panicking mass of people." 'As seen yesterday', he grumbled.

"Keep the flask close to yourself, hang it onto a belt or something."

A little reluctant he wiped a bit of excess goo from their face where it was too obvious, before he shifted his arm away again.

"For your information. You're living next to humans. You should've been enclosed in your own world up until now, but now it's different, alright? So keep your ears perched."

He felt old explaining society's rules to the other demon.

"First, always be as clean as you possibly can. Second, be as nice as you possibly can. Third, keep a close eye on how people act around you when they are in public. Act like them, be normal, unsuspicious. The basic rules if you want to live an acceptable life down here. You'll get to it one day."

He cleaned the glass and pushed it away.

"I don't understand how most emotions work, I wasn't made for that. It'll be hard to play along if I can't even feel it half the time." All uncertainties aside about feelings and how to deal with them aside, they felt something.

Maybe that was something close to happiness? Maybe. They knew it was out of the ordinary, but if they should try and at least act out their feelings with humans around, they were going to do just that.

Putting the thermos down on the table they hesitated for a brief moment before they wrapped their arms around the demon's middle, showing their appreciation in a human way.

"Told you you were my destiny."

The demon was way too flustered about the reaction to go against it, but rather let it happen, awkwardly petting her before he reached for his beer and took a few sips to distract himself. This was new to him as well. Even Warlock hadn't hugged him like that, and Warlock had done a lot.

"Acting comes in time", he mumbled and grumbled something about the destiny part, which was really just irritated ramblings to himself.

He waved for the waitress to clean up and already fiddled with his free hand to pull out his wallet to pay.

"Another lesson. Human's pay for items they grab from stores, or in restaurants, or...whatever basically. Always keep some cash in hand for that."

When Crowley didn't react negatively to the gesture, they held on for longer than intended, but let go of him when he called for the waitress.

"Got it. Gotta pay for everything", they repeated for themselves and picked up the thermos to hold it close, their fingers leaving some stains on the outside of it.

The demon quickly wrapped up the paying, downed the rest of the beer and stood up, gesturing for Pollution to follow.

"Want to learn some more about society?"


	10. A Talk With Adam

"If you are willing to teach me, sure."

Pollution jumped out of their chair, but turned back towards the table to empty their almost untouched cup. Would be a shame if that had to go to waste.

When that was out of the way, they quickly followed the other demon.

He waited for them patiently before he continued on: "For one, you are a child now. In body. I don't know how old you would be in human years, but I'd guess about the same age as the antichrist is. Try to act it a little."

He popped his spine before he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"For some things to do them you need to be of age, so keep your fingers of them. It'll breed suspicion."

Thinking about it for a moment he looked down at them. "I think the easiest way for you to learn would be to have you around someone your age. You were born to be with the antichrist, so how about you spend a day with him? Might prove useful."

"Spend time with the Antichrist? One of his followers discorporated me. They will do that again, and I don't want to have to deal with finding another body. Hell isn't too generous after all."

"They won't kill you. Last time was, eh, different. You'd be joining them as a playmate, not enemy this time. If you'd feel easier about it, they wouldn't have to know that it's you."

"You better not be sending me in there on a suicide mission. I will try to act normal, though I'm pretty sure they will figure out who I am."

They tapped their fingers on the lid of the thermos each time they took another step to keep their hands busy with something. Being in a child's body only meant they had to depend even more on the other demon, or they'd freak anyone out that was nearby when they'd go berserk.

"I will play along, if you'd get me anything I want in return. I don't want to make this harder for myself as it already is."

Giving them a cautious glance he put his hands in his pockets and looked back over to the little houses that were pretty scarce and scattered around, compared to London.

"Depends on what you want. I ain't gonna get you anything, just something. If it's nothing too bad."

Still feeling uncertain about the proposal they at least would go there to test their luck with the kids. If anything happened, they could always use the antichrist as an excuse to have been discorporated.

Hell wouldn't think twice if they heard that, so they hoped.

"Seems fair, but if it's important for me to make me live, you have to promise to get it, no matter what it is. Sounds fair?"

"I-"

Crowley felt more and more like backing out of it. It at first had seemed like a good idea. He could clear his mind a little, the young demon would learn something, and if he was lucky, make a friend or two.

Didn't feel as good an idea though when the other kept talking about dying, and him having to get them something, regardless of what it was.

"Okay, okay. I'll get it for you. As long as it's in my possibility, and not going against any rules."

Now that he thought about it, how should he even approach Adam about this? They hadn't had any contact after the Armageddon, only once to get his body back. And that had only more or less worked out fine.

Both Aziraphale and he had deemed it a better idea, now that armageddon had been stopped, to let the boy live a, more or less, normal life. They had just kept their eyes on him a little, just in case.

Without realizing it they had already reached Adam's house. It was still early in the morning, so he thought they could still find him there. He hoped. Else it'd get harder. Subconsciously he already rang the bell.

"'Not going against any rules'?"

They tilted their head at the older demon and made a face.

"I thought you were a demon. There is too much good in you left. Maybe spending so much time with the angel made you nicer than you should be."

Didn't matter. If that's the case, maybe it would be a good idea to be taught how to act human from both of them to balance it out.

Thinking about if, and how they were going to approach the other celestial being, they hadn't noticed being led to a certain house they didn't recognize until they heard the ringing of the doorbell.

Promptly they whipped their head around in shock: "What are you doing? Is this where he lives?! Are you sure he won't hurt me?"

"After your comments, I sure do hope he will", Crowley mentioned annoyed before he turned to see Mrs. Young in the doorway.

"Mrs. Young, if I am correct?"

Smiling he pulled Pollution closer to himself, hands in his pockets and looking as confident as he could, though he was more than willing to start yelling at the child next to him.

Mrs. Young nodded slowly as she eyed him up and down in confusion. She had never seen this man before, and in the small village they lived in, it was most likely to know everyone.

Still, being polite as she was, she smiled lightly at him: "Yes, that's me. What can I do for you, sir?"

Now, what was he supposed to say, he hadn't really thought this through, had he now. God, it was hard to speak with people who didn't know shit about heaven and hell, and were living with basically the prince of darkness himself.

"Uh, sorry to disrupt you early in the morning. Is Adam at home?"

"He is. What do you need from him? Did he do something bad again?" She turned to look down the hall with a small frown, not wanting to scold her son again for accidentally stepping on someone's yard, or throwing a frisbee into someone's flowers.

Looking up and feeling that Crowley was a bit lost they decided to speak up and tried to act as, what they suspected, a child would act like.

"I wanted to meet him."

The older demon felt a wave of relief wash over him as the younger one spoke up in his case.

"Yeah. Yeah, Polly here wanted to speak with him. They found out they‘ll go to the same class as he and saw him playing over in the woods, but were too shy to talk to him. So I accompanied them."

He quickly made that up on the spot and hoped it'd work out. To make it a little more believable he looked down to Pollution and started ruffling her hair a little awkward.

At the gesture of Crowley patting them, they almost wanted to give him weird looks, but thought it was just a normal gesture and even pushed up into the hand happily.

"Oh!"

Mrs. Young perked up at the rather nice reason someone was here to see her son, and immediately turned around to call for him: "Adam! There is someone here to see you!"

Adam had been sitting at his desk, writing down some of his ideas about supernatural phenomenon he had read about in a magazine, while Dog scuffled around his legs, playing with a squeaky toy bone, when his mother had called.

Who could it be? Probably Wensley, he thought. He had wanted to come by and talk about the universe.

Or it was Pepper who had mentioned that she had wanted to come by and play with Dog.

Excitedly Adam jumped off the chair.

"Coming, Mom!"

He was still in his pajamas and barefoot, so he quickly slipped into a pair of fluffy slippers and waved for Dog to follow. He didn't think much of it at first that Dog leaped forward and ran down the stairs.

As he saw who was standing in the doorway though his smile vanished, and he quickly pulled cautious Dog back by his collar.

"It's you", he stated and looked around a little awkward, wondering what he should say in front of his mother that wouldn't raise suspicion.

His mother raised a brow at the change of attitude and how, apparently, he already knew those two, but didn't question him just yet, maybe she'd do that later.

A little hesitant, Pollution extended their arm to shake his hand since that's what all those business men they had seen did to greet each other after all.

"Hello an- Adam, I'm Polly. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A little cautious he shook their hand and nodded.

"Adam. Nice to meet you too."

Looking Crowley up and down he sighed and flashed his mother a smile: "Mom? Polly and I will go upstairs into my room. Mr....?"

Adam gave the taller demon a questioning look to go along with the farce.

"Crowley. Anthony J. Crowley. I'll go along too. Polly is a little shy sometimes."

Nodding Adam waved for them to follow him to his room while Crowley thanked the woman for letting them in and said something along the lines of, 'we won't burden you'.

Without a complaint Mrs. Young stepped aside to let their guests enter the house and closed the door behind them, watching them go upstairs before she couldn‘t see them anymore and returned to her husband‘s side at the dining table.

Once inside the young demon awkwardly followed the boy, frightened, yet excited to see his room. This was the Antichrist's home, the one's home, who had defeated Satan, how could they not feel a bit uneasy to be there?

Subconsciously they held a tight grip on their sleeves and pressed their body a tad bit closer to Crowley's.

Up in Adam's room the boy quickly pointed for the two to sit on his bed while he sat down in a chair.

"I've only just got your body back. what is it now? I have nothing to do with you."

He looked at Pollution and raised an eyebrow.

"And why is she with you? Do you and the other angel have a child?"

Being talked to by someone that should be of higher authority than them made them feel like they had to speak up and say anything.

"I was brought here to learn human behaviors from you, since he-", they pointed at Crowley:

"Can't teach me to act the part of how to. Also, if you'd have to find a way to describe our relations, you'd probably rather not call me their child. That sounds too much like he'd be teaching me all he has acquired on this planet, and that wouldn't work with the plan. They are simply my caretakers."

"Oh, so she isn't your actual child, but more like adopted?"

"What?!"

"So she is a demon?"

"They are, yes."

Crowley gritted his teeth, not knowing if he was burning up from embarrassment or rage.

"Just so you have it, they aren't OUR child though. Aziraphale got nothing to do with this“, he continued in agitation.

"He got nothing to do with it YET. Eventually he will know too, and maybe by the time that will come, you don't even want to get rid of me anymore", Polly shrugged at Crowley's remarks with a sly smirk, but then turned back to Adam.

"Oh, so it's they...", Adam just mumbled to himself before he eyed Pollution up and down and gave them a questioning look, silencing anything Crowley could say further with a sharp side glance.

"So, who exactly are you?"

Who they were? Was it even a good idea to throw out the information of who they really were? Probably not.

"I was sent here under god's will to roam earth alongside Crowley and Aziraphale until the time comes for the showdown between heaven and hell and the human race."

"Which has been avoided", Crowley threw in.

Adam nodded to the taller demon's remark and looked still confused at the smaller one: "That is....rather vague though."

When he pat his lap Dog jumped up and curled into a little furball, still occasionally growling at the two demons until he got scolded for it.

"I've been informed a little about everything that's went down until that day by aunt Anathema. I know all about it. The antichrist, armageddon, hell and heaven. But I don't want all this. I only need Dog, and Mom, and Dad, and Pep, Wensley, and Brian, and aunt Anathema. And maybe uncle Newton too."

He counted the people with his fingers before he dropped them into Dog‘s fur once more.

"I'm NOT the bringer of doom. I'm Adam."

He looked way too mature with a stern face as he said that.

"I don't have anything against you angels. And not against the demons either", he pointed at Pollution for the last part.

"But I am a human, living here on earth. What you all are doing, is nothing of my concern."

Adam didn't want to be the caretaker of a demon, or be the adversary of darkness, or be the problem solver for everyone around him. He really only wanted to be Pepper's, and Wensley's, and Brian's friend, and keep playing the fun little games they played in the woods.

"Yeah, you're not", Crowley mumbled. He felt a little bit of a connection with the young boy.

He too had rebelled against his role, and he still did, didn't he.

Standing up he walked to a map of the galaxy that hung on Adam's wall and stared at it, piecing his thoughts together into words in his head.

"This here's nothing about armageddon. It's basically like they said. I'm their caretaker and they were brought back onto earth after they died. They've lost their appearance, that's why they're a child now. But they're not dangerous, if that's what you think. Though they like to try and be a little brat about trying to blackmail people."

He gave Pollution an annoyed smirk before he continued.

"I don't want you to help me about anything. Or them. I rather request for you to be a friend to them. They're pretty confused about all this, and I can't teach 'em that. I've always been an adult. How the heck am I supposed to know what a child's like. That's why I thought, maybe you'd like to give them a shot as a part of your team. What more to learn than from four children about the same age as they are, you know?“

He sighed and leaned against the wall, finally looking back at Adam who had followed him with his eyes.

„I'd like to enroll them in a school, if possible, so they learn to pull their own weight, and won't eat my money for the rest of my life. So I thought maybe you'd help them with the basics for that. Oh, and what to gain from that? A friend. Before you're asking me that again."

The young demon sat between them and hoped for an outcome that both parties could live with. It was so strange to see a demon like Crowley, that had had a 'good' reputation in hell, to put effort into trying to help them to accomplish what they were put on this world for.

He was helping, and even if it would only be for the sake of getting them to leave him sooner, he still did it.

From the start of getting on the track of finding the demon, they could feel all kinds of things. Things a demon shouldn't be able to feel.

Ever.

It left them more and more puzzled at the sensations of what happiness and all those other emotions were like.

"Adam, I don't want you to destroy the earth or do any demonic business. I really am, just as he said, confused and overwhelmed with this. I wasn't born for this human stuff, at least so I thought. There are just some things only a human can teach me, a human that still has the basic ideas of to why it is hard for me to try and fit in.“

They genuinely felt that way since they didn‘t see the grand picture of what they were doing, the pollution and torturing of mother earth, as a grand scheme to kill everything off. Something seemed to bind them to earth since they had been reborn.

„Just imagine you'd have to leave your home and learn how to live all over again. I never wanted to say this... But I'm begging you to help me. I can stay away from you if you don't see it working out, but at least give me a chance? Please?"

How Pollution sat before him, a genuinely lost look on their face and asking for his help, Adam felt a little...sorry for them.

"Well, I won't promise you anything, but I can try. As long as you don't use any of your demonic powers, or however you call that. Since armageddon everyone's been slightly uneasy around otherworldly stuff. Especially Pepper is cautious. So you'll just be a new friend. Polly was it?"

He extended his hand towards them again.

A weird feeling bubbled up in their chest at the reassurance that they were given a chance to learn what they needed to.

"I will try to not cause too much trouble. Ah, and my name..."

At the mentioning of their name they simply looked over at Crowley for a moment and nodded back at Adam.

"It's Polly. I hope this friendship will work out well."

Adam nodded and pulled his hand back.

"I'll call the others, they'll want to meet you."

He shooed Dog of his lap and jumped up to walk to a telephone in his room. Looking back at Crowley he raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to stay, are you?"

"What? No! So you better be alright being without me", he pointed at Polly and walked towards them.

Snapping his fingers he gave them an old fashioned phone.

"My number is in that. Call me when there's trouble. Teach that to them, will you? I know you can fix everything, antichrist and all, but your friends wouldn't want you doing much magic, i'm guessing."

Shrugging he turned around and waved at Polly with a stoic look on his face, before he walked out of the room and downstairs where he bumped into Adam's parents.

Before Mr. Young could even start about how he knew him from the lost collar incident, Crowley thanked him for taking care of his child and walked out.

Polly waved back at the older demon as he left before turning to Adam to watch him expectantly.

Back at the cottage, Anathema already waited for their guests to return. She had spent the whole morning looking further into the business of demons and angels to kinda get an idea of what could happen next that could throw her life for a loop.

Silently humming, she closed her eyes and listened for any sounds coming from outside to indicate someone was coming back.

And Crowley wasn't really quiet. He was muttering and mumbling to himself, lost in thought and kicking up stones by the sidewalk.

He didn't know what to make of the situation, how to deal with it, and he had even gotten rid of Pollution, if you could even call it that, to have some free time to think about all that, and now he felt uneasy leaving them alone.

It was really a temptation to try and literally slap some sense back into himself, but he didn't.

Rather he squatted down in the witch‘s porch to stare at the flowers, not realizing the open window leading into the kitchen where Anathema stood and stared at him.

When she saw him returning she was close to speaking up and asking him where he had left the kid, but she kept her mouth shut as she could see the distress in him. Even weirder was that he sat down next to the flowers and didn't do much else.

Pushing herself away from the window she went outside and wordlessly sat down next to him, eyeing him for some time before she thought about speaking up.

"Something on your mind?"


	11. The Them And Demon Royalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may mention here that yes, I have seen that in the series Wensley had strawberry ice-cream and Adam vanilla. I just like to twist things sometimes to make them how I see fit better, and Wensley is definitely someone eating something super bland as vanilla. I mean; chartered accountancy, like, hello
> 
> Also, I am very excited for posting the next chapter since something long awaited by me and my buddy will happen :D

Since he hadn't seen her at all, he flinched as she suddenly spoke and accidentally ripped out the flower he had nudged.

"Don't sneak up on me that way ever again", he grumbled and looked at the squashed flower in his hand with a bit of sorrow and confusion.

He was totally out of it. Just too much going on the past days, too much to think about, too much to worry about. And he really hadn't yet had the time to work out even one of his problems.

"Wait, you hadn't seen me yet? I thought you may have noticed me standing in the window."

"Did I look like I've seen you", he muttered under his breath, just barely loud enough to understand before he sighed and sat down since his legs started to ache from the weird position.

Resting her head on her hands she raised a brow at him, but simply shook her head. "You really are out of it."

A little hesitant she thought about if she should press on and decided that it might be a good idea: "So, what happened, and where did you leave the kid off? Must be a reason you look like you left your head somewhere else."

"They're with Adam. Thought it'd be a good idea to have them learn with someone their age."

"Good idea. Adam is a sweet kid after all, I'm sure he'll be able to help just fine."

Anathema, in no way feeling any danger, tore her gaze away from the one beside her and let it roam over her garden.

"For someone who acted like the kid was just a bother, you seem like you have taken a liking to them. No sense of control over them at all, but still there is something shifting in your aura when you are with them. Not as much as with your angel, but very noticeable."

"No it's not. They're a bother. They started clinging to me, they keep trying to blackmail me about angel, they've gotten me into trouble more than one time, and they're ignorant, and bratty, and childish. It's annoying."

He nudged a different flower and leaned towards it, whispering something at which it started trembling, though there was no apparent wind. It wrapped itself around his finger and seemed to bloom more brightly by the second. He hissed at it, and it coiled from his finger into the palm of his hand, like a puppy, or kitten.

"You aren't being a shining example for them, really. Either that's just how demon's act, or they have learned the way they act from you. Anyway, they don't act too different to what kids act like, and if you can't deal with that, you need help from someone."

She shook her head.

"Why won't you just ask someone for help who knows how to deal with a demon?"

At the hissing she turned back towards him only to watch him run his fingers to the flowers and magically make them grow to look more beautiful than she, or any professional gardeners, could ever bring them to do.

Despite the questions to why he was doing this with her plants, or why he wasted magic doing it, she simply gave off an: "Impressive", and continued watching in slight amazement, but yet with some concerns about how that would affect her garden.

"I can deal with it on my own. It's not like the pipsqueek's made from holy water or something."

Crowley extended his other hand too and whistled at the other flowers, nudging the flower in his palm with his thumb symbolically, just enough that the petals were pushed together a little. Another whisper and the flowers would start twining around his arm and bloom more furiously in bright colours.

He couldn't yell at them in front of Anathema, but he could threaten them enough very quietly.

"And it's not like there would be anyone like that either. Can't send them back to hell after all, now can I. They'd start cussing all about me, and soon everyone'd be on my tail."

He gritted his teeth and stared at the different and bright flowers. One little breath, and the flower he had squashed was back to life too. It wriggled a little pitiful until it connected to one of the other's and showed off it's petals to the demon too.

"Whatever you say. Just don't come crying when they get too much to handle for you. They are a mighty being, but paired with childish behaviors, and to top it off, having them clinging to you all day.. Let's just say, I'm glad I don't have to be in your shoes."

She watched for some time longer but eventually got to her feet, smoothing down her dress. He might just need some time for himself to think things over. She understood that, even if she wasn't experiencing any of this as much as he was.

"We aren't friends, nor do we know each other really, but don't overdo things. You have your own things to do, and if they keep you from it, tell me. I'll help with it, even if they will drive me insane."

"Yeah, sure."

He didn't bother looking after her, didn't really care for it. His mind was all over the place and not in condition for social interaction. Still, he did say one thing before he shut off completely, though he would not turn around to look at the other:

"Next time you see that boy, get that angel idea out of his head. I ain't one. Don't let him keep that stupid thought."

Crowley rather kept 'caring' for the flowers, trailing off to shake the flowers off his hands and turn his attention to one of the bushes.

On the other side of the village Wensley was rather apalled and walked away from one. Brian had found a big, slimy snail underneath one and held it up now, and into the nerd's face.

They had met up at Adam's place shortly after Crowley had left and were introduced to Polly. Since Pollution didn't have a bycicle, they decided to go by foot.

They were showing them 'round the village, the best places to go if you wanted to have fun, and the ones to avoid. Though Adam was more behind the others, this time not only because he was the leader of the gang, but also because he wanted to have a good overview on Pollution. Just so they wouldn't do anything stupid.

Pollution knew they were under constant observation as they interacted with the other three. It didn't stop them to be how they wanted to.

Of course, they didn't use their powers to have a trail of trash following them, or were soaked in oil and other chemicals, but they still kept up their slightly oblivious nature and may, or may not have stared at some things without blinking longer than deemed normal.

Despite all that they tried copying some of their ways of acting and reacting to different things, and mostly silently followed them around town.

Pepper, who was, by nature, skeptical of everything at first, walked further back with Adam and watched from afar to try and get used to the new kid in their group. Even if it was a rude thing to do, she leaned in closer to Adam and mumbled some things to him.

"Why did you bring someone new along? Weren't we just enough?"

Adam shrugged and pried his gaze off of Pollution to look at Pepper. "Yeah. I was asked to."

"Oh, so you let people boss you around now? Why not say no? You are too nice to some people."

"It's not like that, Pep. You see, they asked me", Adam pointed to Pollution.

"It's not nice being alone."

With that he deemed the conversation as ended and got a move on to join up with the others, signing for Pepper to do the same.

Pepper sighed, she'd have to get used to having them around.

Wensley had by now ran off further from them since Brian had tried to make him kiss the snail. Now the tallest of them rather walked to Polly with it, holding the snail under their nose to try and get a reaction from them.

Being interrupted by their thoughts as they stared at the buildings, they stopped walking as the slimy, little animal was dangled into their face, and thought about how to respond to that.

Carefully they reached up to poke the animal, which reacted immediately to their touch. Rubbing the slime between their fingers they shook their head with a small smile and went to touch it again.

"I like it, feels nice."

Wensleydale had also returned to the group and walked to Polly's unoccupied side.

"You really like that thing? It's slimy, and sticky, and like...it's dirty. My mom would yell at me if I played with something like that."

He grimaced and pushed his glasses up.

"Exactly that's why I like it. You could say that I like most things others would call unpleasant."

It was the honest truth. They always went to speak their mind even if a little misleading from time to time. It wasn't a trait a demon should have, but they were brutally honest and only twisted things around if they were asked to.

Plucking the snail from Brian's hand, they placed it into their open palm and turned to Wensleydale, running a finger over it.

"I don't know how my caretakers would react to me bringing something like that home, but I doubt they'd mind much. Come on, touch it. It won't hurt you."

The snail had at first been cautious of the young demon and retreated it's antennas in fear, but it gradually opened up to the point where it slugged around happily on Pollution's hand. It nearly looked like it even pushed up into their hand as it was pat.

"Eeeeeeh, I don't know."

Wensley stuck his tongue out in disgust, though he couldn't hide the fascination he had for the way the other treated the snail. He had never heard of someone patting a snail, and much less of a snail looking like it liked it. If you could call it that.

"Pepper! Come on! You pet it! If you will, I will too!"

The nerd bet on the part that Pepper wouldn't want to touch it. Girl stereotypes and all that his parent's had inplanted into him. Though they had always been overthrown by Pepper by now.

With a huff, Pepper walked closer to the group, specifically the demon, and reached out to touch the snail without her expressions changing.

"I don't like it, but it's not that bad. Don't be such a baby."

Giving the nerd a smug smile she took his hand and guided it to the small animal. Polly just stood in their middle, doing nothing but standing there and watching the kids fussing over the creature.

"Oh come on", Wensley whispered, screeching quietly as his hand was further pulled towards the slimy creature.

As he touched it he gave off a whine and looked away, his hand cramping underneath Pepper's. The snail got scared by that and quickly returned into it's house. The instant it did Wensley let out a loud, high pitched screech and yanked his hand back, furiously wiping his fingers at his trousers, looking at the snail in fear.

" _Why'd you have to go and do that Pepper_?!"

"You said that you'd do it if I did it, I simply helped."

Pepper rolled her eyes and ignored the cries from her friend. To her, it wasn't that big of a deal, why would it? As if a tiny thing like that could even harm him in any way.

Kinda funny how he was always thinking she should act girly, but he wasn't acting how a man should act at all.

Since they could feel negative emotions for every creature, and they could feel the distress of the animal they held, they went over to a lawn and put it down on a safe spot to release it.

Brian watched them put down the snail much to his disliking. They must have had their reason for it though.

"Adam! Come on, say something! Say that she shouldn't have done it", Wensley cried out, but Adam only gave him a puzzled look and pointed at the bushes where the snail started disappearing into.

"But you said you'd do it if she did."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Ha! There you have it!"

Pepper pat his back a bit rougher than was necessary, giving him a mocking look.

"Let's just get some ice cream."

Adam turned to Pollution.

"Have you eaten Ice cream before?"

Slowly they shook their head and returned to them, pulling a bit on their sleeve to smear around some slug underneath their clothes.

"I know what ice is... Not really good with it. Is it similar to that?"

Offended by Pepper's mock Wensley pouted and turned his gaze away from her, holding his head up high to symbolize for her, that he didn't want to have any contact with her whatsoever.

"If it bothers you really that much, I could pay for your ice cream. Oh wait...sadly I am just a woman who needs a man's money", Pepper mocked him further at the reaction.

Wensley ignored her skillfully, but at Polly's remark he looked at them a little weird.

"Did your dad only give you ice cubes or something? Ice cream is soft and creamy, and tastes like different kinds of fruit, or other things. Well, it's tasty and sweet at least. Ask Brian about it."

The nerd shrugged and turned to go back to being offended.

"Well... My dad that brought me over isn't really into sweets, at least I think so, and ice in general wasn't really my thing. I like it warm", Polly answered with a shrug.

If everyone was calling Crowley their dad, maybe they should pick up on it too. Would be weird if they didn't, right?

Brian almost looked offended at Polly's reply and grabbed them by their wrists.

"Oh you have to try it! Your parents gave me all kinds of ice cream before, so you should really ask them to get some too! For now I'll be happy to show you the best flavors Tadfield has to offer, which isn't a lot, but still an experience you need to have gone through!"

Not waiting for another word he pulled them along to the small ice cream shop, not bothering to look back to see if the others would follow.

Wensley took a moment to realize that he was being left alone with Pepper and Adam and quickly got a move on to join Brian and Polly.

"Hey, wait for me!"

He didn't exercise much, so he quickly started gasping for air and could feel his side aching after only a bit of running. Though Brian loved sweets, he was a kind of athletic kid, and since Polly was a demon, they could keep up with it just fine.

The nerd couldn't. So they somehow split into three groups. Polly and Brian, Wensley, Pepper and Adam.

When they all joined back together, Brian and Polly already had scones in their hand and Wensley was just about to get his.

Pollution was only half listening to any explanation Brian made about the flavors they had and what else there was to enjoy about sweets that wasn't just ice cream. Their focus was on the streak of melted ice cream that dripped down onto their hand.

It couldn't be helped that they used a tiny bit of magic to hurry the process; it was in their blood to do so.

Noticing Polly just staring Pepper fake coughed to get their attention and pointed at their hand.

"You know.. If you don't eat it, you'll end up looking as messy as Brian. Plus, your ice cream would be wasted."

That her words somewhat sounded like an order helped; Pollution experimentally licked over their hand to get the sugary substance off of it.

Wensley had some bland vanilla, like practically always. Though he did have some weird tastes sometimes, like when he said that the mint ice cream was the best he had ever eaten, or had combined mint-chocolate chip with banana ice cream and had deemed it the perfect combo.

Adam was eating strawberry. He liked fruity ice cream, especially when it really tasted like fruits, and not only like sugar. He made sure that none of the melted ice cream dripped onto him; he liked everything to be rather in order than chaotic.

That's why he always cringed a little when the others would let it drip on their hands, especially when Brian would get his all over his shirt again.

Through the babbling of the kid next to them about what ice cream they were given, Pollution could make out the word 'yoghurt' so they assumed that's what it was.

It was... well, it wasn't bad. It was just nothing they had ever tasted before and they didn't know how to describe it.

They didn't really think too much about it to start describing it to begin with, but when especially Brian was looking at them as if he was waiting for a reaction, they bit their lip and turned it around in their hand before giving it another lick.

"It's so sweet. Not obnoxiously sweet. Just sweet enough to still be good."

They thought for a second and tried it again.

"Milky too. Milky and sweet. It's nice, nothing compared to anything I have ever had before."

"You must have lived a boring life if you've never eaten something like that before", Wensley mentioned and walked over to Adam suspiciously, whispering to him:

"Adam, if it's really the child of those angels it must be something supernatural too, right? You said they're our age, but if they've never seen anything like that, don't you think they might have been maybe kidnapped and held in a basement or something? Or maybe they are the ruler of hell and just beyond us as a guise to take you away from us!"

Wensley whined and looked genuinely afraid.

"Please, don't leave us Adam!"

Adam just gave him a strange look and flicked his forehead.

"Eat your ice cream and be quiet. They're adopted and aren't even anything special themselves. Who knows what their background story is. I for my part don't know, and you should stop making up weird rumors about it. It's rude."

That shut up Wensley's bickering and he looked a little defeated before he jogged back to Pollution and pointed at Brian.

"Don't start eating like him, it's obnoxious."

Sticking his tongue out at Brian he started licking his own ice-cream again and gave off a satisfied noise and aura as he walked beside them, though his worry was far from cleared. He always worried. Quite a worrywart really.

Pollution stopped eating and turned their head towards the new source of a lot worry, unblinkingly looking at the already freaked out boy. A reason why they stared for too long was because they had no idea how to address it, or if it was a good idea to address it in the first place.

"You... Why are you so worried? Did I miss something?", they asked blankly, the forced emotions they put into speaking before just gone.

Pepper, who had been keeping her mouth shut by focusing on her ice cream, furrowed her brow at the change in behaviour and even seemed somewhat worried over it. Worried she exchanged a glance with Brian before looking at Adam for a second, and then back at the new kid.

"He usually is worried about a lot of things. Just- just forget it."

She tried to break up the stare Pollution had on her friend, but what she got worried her further. The demon whipped their head around to shift their gaze to the ones walking behind them, a quiet yet well noticeable cracking sound accompanying it.

A little worried about the situtation Adam walked up to them and put one hand on their shoulder.

"Calm down."

It sounded more like a command than anything else.

"He's a worrywart. His parents are pretty cleanly and strict; he was basically born and conditioned to be that way. He doesn't mean anything by it."

He looked them deep in the eyes and gave them the calmest look he could possibly give them while Wensley started to get uneasy, not sure about how he should respond about their weird reaction.

"Ah."

Polly acknowledged the tone Adam talked to them with and took a deep breath of fresh air to balance out the negativity their body wanted to turn into more toxins.

Adam was still somewhat their superior, they needed to behave and do as he said. If one of them was always going to act like this, they had to pick up their game of trying to be as human as possible.

"I'm sorry, I am just a little worried about what people think of me, and I am somewhat hyper aware of feelings like sadness, anger and doubt."

He nodded and let go of them, giving Wensley a sharp glance at which he flinched and quickly averted his eyes.

"I'm sorry", the nerd muttered and kicked up some pebbles before giving Polly an apologetic look.

"It's just always been us four, and you're the child of some supernatural beings. I don't know what to make of that."

He was embarrassed saying that out loud and couldn't look at the other for long that way.

"It's fine. I understand that it is something new for you, and so it is for me. I hope you understand I mean no harm, but I can't help it to let some of my usual ways of reacting to things show."

Adam quickly gave his ice-cream to Pepper to hold it for him, and gave Wensley a sign to shut up.

"Are you okay now? Or should we call your dad?"

More forceful than healthy they smiled and turned their head back into it's right position. They went long enough without causing proper chaos, and it was getting to them harder than it should, so naturally at the opportunity of getting away and back somewhere where they could use their magic, sounded really good.

Nodding as an answer to the question, which didn't answer anything really, they pulled out the phone they were given and fumbled with it for some time before they were able to call the other demon.

At least they somehow could use their phone now after Adam had just barely thaught them how to while they had waited in his room for the others to arrive.

It took a moment until Crowley answered the phone, and instead of his usual tone he sounded snappy and out of it. He was still sitting in the garden after all, the bushes and flowers by now grown beautifully into perfect shape and colour, and all around him quite high into the air.

"What."

"Hey dad. I need you to come and pick me up. I don't feel so good right now-"

Pollution bit their tongue to not comment on the way he sounded when he only spoke that single word. No need to get him more riled up.

If they had to they could easily ask for directions to get to the cottage themselves; it just felt more human to them to ask an adult for help.

That's what kids were supposed to do.

"Dad?" He sounded flustered and needed a moment before he reacted.

Clearing his throat Pollution could hear some shuffling around as he finally stood up, pat some dirt of his clothes and hissed at the flowers to make them retreat from him.

"Where are you?"

Ignoring the reactions they simply answered the question and glanced at the kids that were watching them, before turning to look at their surroundings.

"At the ice cream shop. Do you know where it is? I could also go back to Adam's if it's easier for you to get me there."

"Yeah, no, i'll be right there."

He thought he had seen it before. Not that it had mattered to him, so he wasn't exactly sure. He just hung up without another word and started walking into the direction he guessed was right.

Anathama sighed when she saw the demon walking off like a lost puppy. He wasn't going to last long if he kept it up like he was now; he needed help.

"So? Is he coming", Adam asked and took his ice-cream back from Pepper, licking the melted ice carefully of the soaked through scone.

They let the phone slide away from their ear when he had hung up and pressed some buttons until they were able to hang up too. "Yeah, he is coming"

Without making an effort of looking up they softly smiled.

"Thank you for giving me a chance to spend time with you."

"Don't worry about it. It was fun."

Adam looked around the group and gave Wensley a kind of scolding glare for a second before he went back to the calm, indifferent look he always had.

"Give me your phone, i'll put my number into it. I'll text you later and explain something about messengers. If you want to, you can join again. Right guys?"

"It certainly was an experience. No doubt", Pepper said, keeping a fair share of distance between her and Polly. She still didn't trust them. They were way too quiet and going along with everything proposed to them. Maybe she should teach them to not only follow orders.

Wensley had backed off a little before and just silently licked his ice-cream, but he walked back to their side now, head hanging a little low.

"Yeah, i'm sorry. Next time let's play something and not just walk around."

Brian was up until Polly almost snapped their neck to stare at Wensleydale, convinced that they were just a normal but shy kid that was even kinda ok to be around. After some proper getting used to them they shouldn't be a problem that couldn't be handled with.

Without hesitating they handed over their phone, rocking back and forth on their heels. Those children didn't want them with them, they could feel it. As long as no one spoke any complaints, they went with it. It wasn't like it would be easy to get rid of them anyways.

"Sounds good, I hope I have some free time very soon again."

"Even if you don't. I'll teach you to message me."

Adam smiled now. For only a moment, but he did. He was interrupted though by Crowley, who had finally found his way down the street.

He had his hands in his pockets and some leafs and a flower were stuck on his shoulder where he hadn't noticed them. His hair was a little messy too, though he usually made sure to have it in perfect place.

"Hey. Everything alright?"

At first glance it was too obvious that he wasn't fully there, that his head was somewhere in the clouds. There was no way they'd discuss the business of a demon in plain sight in front of some kids.

Shrugging Polly walked towards him a bit when he came closer.

"I think I need a break, it was a bit much for me today. But it was nice! I'm glad I got this opportunity to see how it's like to be normal."

Crowley nodded and ruffled through their hair before he waved at Adam and the other kids.

"Thanks for taking up on the request."

The boy only nodded and gave the others a sign to gather up, waving himself before he turned around and started scolding Wensley again for being insensitive and rude. For Pepper he did the same thing, though not as bad. She had at least tried.

When the demons were more or less alone, Crowley's mind cleared up just a little and he flinched as he felt something sticky brushing past his hand. Looking down he saw the ice cream melted all over Polly's hand and sleeve and shirt, and sighed.

"Eat it already. It's not gonna get better. And clean it up."

The confusion was clear to see. Polly had no clue why he was being like that. Having lived with being sticky, oily and dirty, it never bothered them, neither did the melted ice cream.

Not looking like they'd make a move they eyed him up and down, before they shoved the cone with the liquid inside into their mouth to get rid of what was left. Like that it was way more satisfying.

"I'll get cleaned at the house we stay at, you should too though. Get the leafs away from you."

"Leafs?"

He looked confused for a moment before he saw them through the corner of his eye. Cursing he pat the dirt and leafs and flowers from his shoulder. He hadn't seen them at all.

"I'll tell Anathema to help you take a bath or something. Else you'll probably try to go around cleaning."

"Yeah, so? Aren't I supposed to enjoy a bath? I can do it alone", they said as they licked the melted ice cream off of their hand. That wasn't quite as tasty as the actual thing, but it was fine for now.

The walk back to the cottage lasted a few minutes, those minutes felt way longer than they should have though. They thought about what he had said and smiled widely up at him.

" If you really need someone to watch over me while I get cleaned, or someone to help, why won't you do it? I think it would be nice."

"No."

He blurted it out without even giving himself a chance to think. If he had thought about it, he would probably have even tended to say 'Yes'. It would have made sure they were clean, and the emotions they showed and how they tried their best, he could really be proud of them, if he wouldn't block everything of them off the instant it reached him.

While sitting in the garden he had decided to let it all be. He would go away somewhere with them and enroll them in a school, and, even if they wouldn't have any friends, as long as they wouldn't get him into trouble, he'd just wait until they could take care of their own and then leave them be.

Most of these thoughts stemmed from the desire to keep this all away from his angel, some of them too because he feared to be afilliated with hell once again. And one other thing too; he feared to become somewhat emotionally attached to them. If that happened, he'd have a problem either way.

A little disappointed they huffed and crossed their arms. There wasn't even a proper reason why they should be disappointed about it. They had been alone for so long, and didn't even want anyone to be too close so they could enjoy what they had made.

Probably some emotional stuff they had picked up already. Hopefully just a temporary thing.

Since Crowley didn't immediately see the witch, and he wasn't in a mood to bother searching for her, he called her name:

"Anathema!"


	12. The Talk

Said witch turned her head as she stood beside the new plants and wrote some things down. It might have been a demonic miracle; but it was so fascinating and pretty that she couldn't care less.

"Welcome back. What do you want?"

Polly made a face and walked a bit faster to walk past her into the house, pouting.

"Nothing. I can do it alone!"

The demon frowned as he watched them walk away and stared at Anathema a little awkward, then at the house in which they had disappeared into.

"Help them take a bath."

It was a pity, those plants. Since they stood outside, all of his miracles would soon go to vain.

"If they're alone they probably won't do it, or get soap in their eyes or something."

Anathama raised a brow at him at the request and rolled her eyes before going back to examining the plants.

"Not my kid. I have something to do now. When I'm done I could help though."

"As if I'm going to look after a kid. The fuck you think I am."

Crowley started grinding his teeth and glared at the flower in Anathema's hand, that immediately started shaking, and it almoust sounded like it screeched too.

"I'm taking a walk. Not my bloody problem if that brat is up to something."

"Whatever you say."

Seemingly disinterested the witch turned her back to him and made a dismissive hand gesture towards him.

Meanwhile Polly was alone in the bathroom, but instead of being in clean water to remove the grime, they were in a tub full of self produced oil to calm themselves before they had to touch clean, cleansing water, not caring for what anyone would think of it.

When Anathama thought the demon was gone, she put down the notepad she held and went to see how the young demon was doing. When she entered the bathroom, she did not only stare in horror about the things she needed to clean up later, but also at the small kid that dripped some of the oil on the tiles, on the wall and floor.

Without a comment she took a few steps back again and shut the door wordlessly, just to hit her head against it.

This was it. The demon could clean it up, but who knew when he'd come back. This wasn't working at all.

Why her? Why was this happening to her? And why now that she didn't know how to react to it?

She might have said that she wasn't going to do anything. but she couldn't just sit here and do nothing.

Gritting her teeth she stormed to the kitchen to grab her phone, dialing up the number of the bookshop to call for help from the angel. It didn't take long for him to pick up. It was actually feeling like he had waited to be called.

"Crowley? Is that you?"

"No, sorry, It's me, Anathema. I am calling because there is some stuff going on the in village. I saw a demon being around Tadfield, and I think I might need some help with it."

She made up an excuse without mentioning Crowley. Despite her wanting to have him gone now, she had promised to not say anything, But Pollution? They needed to go. Just too much to handle.

It was clear Aziraphale was disappointed to not hear from his demon, but nonetheless he felt the need to help the distressed witch, so he simply told her he'd be there as soon as he could and hung up again.

When Anathama turned around with the plan of going back to studying the newly grown plants, she was met with a dripping demon that stood and stared at her, a trail of goo having followed them to the kitchen.

The witch couldn't even shout or, in general, react to it. She was at such a loss for words that all she wanted to do was leave and not come back.

This needed to stop.

By now Crowley was already a few yards away and he got suspicious stares from an old man walking his dog on the other side of the street. He dismissed it though and kept walking. A good way to clear his head.

A few thousand years ago it had always been Aziraphale who had been the one running away from confrontation, somehow it had ended up that Crowley was the one doing it now.

He snitched and removed the hair band, ruffling through his curls to get them back into shape. He was exhausted and tired and felt like a drink. He even walked past the cafe from the morning and found the waitress that had tended to them still standing behind the counter.

Admirable, is something the angel would have said. More like labouring, Crowley thought.

He was sick and tired of being confused and anxious, but he didn't know how to help himself either. When he saw a grimy newspaper lying on the sidewalk he picked it up and flipped through until he found a giant article about a child abuser in Soho, London.

Groaning he ripped the paper to shreds and burnt it in his hand before he pulled up his phone and started playing a weird little app. Something about caring for your own cat, similar to Tamagochi, just better.

Since animals didn't like him in the real world, he at least liked to bet his luck that the programmed ones did.

Since Aziraphale didn't have a car to get him around, and Crowley wasn't reacting to his phone, AND he didn't feel like doing many miracles since he was left alone, and had too much time, he took the bus.

It wasn't the best thing since it reminded him of how he and the demon had driven to Crowley's place after Armageddon, but it was convenient.

After about two hours he arrived at Tadfield and turned around to get an idea of where he was and needed to go to. He had been at the cottage before and just needed a second to see in which direction it was, before heading over there and already seeing a distressed young woman sitting on the front porch with her head in her hands.

"Are you ok? What happened, dear?", he asked her worried and only got a nod over to the cottage as a response.

Confused he went back to looking at the house and decided to check out what was happening. It had to do something with that demon for sure.

Inside the walls were covered in black fluids that dripped from the walls, long streaks that consisted of, which looked like, tar all over the floor, leading to the bathroom.

Cautiously Aziraphale followed them and prepared for the worse, but almost immediately relaxed as he just saw a small child sitting along the mess.

"Oh dear."

The angel crouched down, placing a hand on the demon's shoulder, causing them to look up with wide eyes.

"You have created quite a mess. Let me help you."

With a snap of his finger everything was clean again, except the child which he picked up and placed in the tub. He expected more resistance from a demon, but they said nothing and let him do as he pleased, just shuddering when the water hit them for the first time.

"Honey?"

A car stopped in front of the little cottage. Blue and old and saying Dick Turnup on the back.

Quickly Newton stepped out of it and basically ran over to Anathema without even getting his bag. He would have still been working now, but since the library had closed early, he had been able to go home early too.

"Are you alright? Did something happen?"

He crouched down to be on eye level with his girlfriend and took her hands in his, firmly in a soft touch.

Squeezing his hands once she felt him take hers, she lifted her head and gave him a little pained smile.

"I'm ok, just _really_ stressed over everything that is happening. I wish I still had Agnes' guidance to get through this. I didn't think I would have anything else to do with the forces of heaven and hell, but here we are."

Anathama pulled him closer and rested her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent to help her calm down.

While that all went down Aziraphale had cleaned up Polly and miracled them new clothes so they would not have to walk around in their baggy clothes anymore. The attitude they had with Crowley was switched to a more calm and happy one thanks to the angel's aura, that they greedily took in.

"Well, I can't really relate much to it, but you're doing great, honey", Newt smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss before he let go of her to get his bag from the car.

"Come on, let's go inside. I'll make us a hot tea and we'll snuggle up on the couch. I found a book at the library I thought you might enjoy as well?"

Demonstratively he showed her the bag and winked.

More relaxed she got up and took his hand as he came back to her.

"That sounds lovely. Some time off from all that business would be nice."

She was worried to go back inside to see the disaster that was Pollution, and her completely destroyed home, but hopefully Newton being with her didn't make her bail.

Holding her breath she opened the door and immediately let out a sigh of relief when everything was clean again. Bless that angel.

Newt gave her a bit of a puzzled look when she seemed so pent up, but he relaxed as soon as she did and guided her to the couch where he sat her down and wrapped her in a blanket. Taking the book out of his bag he handed it to her and placed the bag aside.

"I'll be right back."

With a smile on his lips he turned to the kitchen, getting rid of his jacket and shoes and neatly tucking them away while he was at it. While he waited for the water to boil up he heard noises from upstairs.

"Is that you up there, Crowley? Can you come down for a moment?"

Anathema was relaxed. So relaxed that Polly could have come running with a handful of dirt and drop it right on her, and she would still be calm.

Problem though, when she had promised the demon to not tell his angel where he was, she hadn‘t anticipated that said angel would soon happen to be in her house, and her own boyfriend would be calling for the demon.

Quickly she shot up and sprinted over to the kitchen, stumbling over there to slap her hand over his mouth.

"Newton, honey, baby, Crowley isn't here. It isn't a good idea to shout for him when Aziraphale is here to take care of the kid. They are having some minor issues or something", she whispered to him and frantically looked around, in hope that the angel hadn‘t heard him.

Lucky for her, he was busy talking to Pollution, taking in every information he could get out of them. They didn‘t mention Crowley yet either, to Anathema‘s luck.

Pushing Anathema's hand away gently he didn't ask further questions, but only nodded as he poured the hot water into two cups and put in the tea leafs.

"So that means Sir Aziraphale is here?"

He liked to call him that. Aziraphale was kind and gentle, and a very nice man indeed, and Newton had only respect for him.

Sighing he looked at the clock to see how long the tea would still need and gave Anathema another kiss.

"Then i'll be quiet. I don't know what's going on with them, so i'll respect that. Will you go on to the couch? I'll just quickly greet him. It'd be rude not to."

Anathema nodded at that and returned the kiss before heading back to the couch.

"Oh, sure. As long as you don't mention Crowley, it's fine. I'll wait for you there, sorry if I can't hold myself back from starting to read though."

Giggling she disappeared back to the spot she sat on and picked up the book to start reading already.

"Just tell me what happened later", he called after her before brewing up another cup.

Pushing up his glasses he took the cup and walked upstairs to where the noises came from. Opening the door just a slit he made sure it wasn't a bad time to go in.

"Good day Sir. And Polly. It's nice to see you.“

He smiled and extended his hand for Aziraphale to shake.

"Mr. Pulsifer! Nice seeing you. I didn't have time to congratulate you and Mrs. Device yet. You two are quite the lovely couple, I can feel it."

Happily he shook his hand and stood up to be polite. The young demon observed them, the more interactions they could copy the better.

"Oh, thank you. I knew you've been in touch with Anathema since Armageddon, so I am happy to finally see you again. And a visit at such short notice too. If you would have said something sooner, I'd have made sure to prepare something. Though I am not all that good at cooking and everything."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah, right."

He had nearly forgotten about the cup. Quickly he gave it over to the angel and winked.

"Well, I don't know exactly why you are here, but see this as a token of my gratitude. It must have something to do with Anathema after all, and seeing her so distressed, you probably came over to help. So, please. A cup of tea to relax. Anathema and I will do the same."

He had left his own cups in the kitchen and looked at his wristwatch. They were nearly done.

"Take out the leafs in three minutes. I do hope you like tea."

"Thank you, I highly appreciate it, though there is no need to thank me."

Aziraphale carefully placed the cup down on a small table between him and the young demon.

"The matter at hand isn't anything you two should deal with. You did enough to help already, but taking care of a demon is something I think humans can get rather frustrated with, judging by how Anathema sounded when she called me, or looked like when I arrived. Poor thing."

Giving Polly a small smile as well he seemed to remember something and gave Newton an apologetic look.

"Also, I hope you understand it would be a good idea to keep them close to me so I can have an eye on them the entire time. You seem to have gotten quite fond of them since you also gave them a name. I just don't want to rip the kid away from their father and mother."

"Oh, it's not us-", Newton started saying, but when he remembered what Anathema had said, he shook his head and walked over to Polly to ruffle through their hair.

"It'll all be better soon."

Bowing further down he whispered into their ear.

"I don't know where your dad is, but i'm sure he'll come back soon. It'll get better once you're at home."

Standing back up he nodded to himself and gave them both a warm smile.

"It'll be fine. I just hope everything will work out. If anything happens, call us. Though I will surely be of no use in that area. Still, it was very nice for you to come and visit us. I hope to see you again. I will help Anathema relax a little downstairs, so please keep it down, yeah?"

Polly wanted to state that one of their parents was here already, but kept her mouth shut since Aziraphale only had been there for a short while, and it could easily become awkward for the angel to have a demon claiming him as their parent.

Silently they nodded and kicked their legs to do something while they waited for them to finish their conversation.

"Don't you worry, I know how to deal with demons. Haven't dealt with one of their children yet, but it can't be too hard. Now you should return to your girlfriend, she must be waiting for you. We will come to you before we are going to leave. No need to rush things."

The angel made a hand motion over to the door to underline it that he shouldn't keep Anathema waiting.

Nodding Newton waved and turned around, walking first to the kitchen to get the cups of tea, and then returning to Anathema with them in his hands.

"So you really already started? So eager?"

Closing the door behind him he walked to her, sat the cups down on a table and playfully tickled her a little. He hadn't seen though that Crowley had by now returned.

Apologetically she handed the book over to him so she could snuggle up to him and get comfortable, unaware that Crowley was back already too. Right now her thoughts were far away from supernatural behaviour and the celestial beings in her home, and she only wanted to have this moment with Newton, her tea and the book.

The demon stood in the porch, unsure if he should go inside or not. He would probably meet a great mess inside there. Hopefully he'd get out of the situation just fine.

Before, when he was walking, he had gotten into a fight with that strange old man. He had started telling him how the youth only stared at their phones nowadays, and that Crowley should be ashamed of himself and all that.

Gladly the demon would have told him that he was several times older than that old douche could ever be. But he had only walked away, which had resulted in a fit from the other.

But he was standing there now, shutting off his phone and putting it away while he took a few deep breaths to encourage himself to walk inside.

This could only get easier once he would tell Anathema that he had booked tickets to ride the train somewhere far away with Polly, so they wouldn't get on her nerves anymore.

Upstairs Polly perked up as they felt the presence of the other demon and startled Aziraphale a bit as he was about to take a sip of the offered tea.

"Oh, whatever", Crowley grumbled and walked inside. Seemed normal all by now.

He walked into the kitchen. A coffee would be nice. So he quickly ground up some beans and brewed them up with hot water. They had probably made themselves something too since the water had still been boiling hot.

He blew on it and took a sip. Refreshing enough.

Since he could hear giggling and voices from the living room he refrained from going inside. Didn't need to catch them one more time. He felt uneasy though, like something creeping up his spine.

The demon shrugged it off though, thinking it was just him overreacting. He just wondered where Pollution was. If Anathema was so relaxed, the bath must have gone fine.

"What's wrong, dear", Aziraphale asked concerned as Polly lit up further and pushed themselves out of their chair to run downstairs.

"Dad is home!", they gave him as an answer without looking back and already stumbled down the stairs, a literal miracle keeping them from landing flat on their face.

Laughing they rushed over to the demon and happily stared up at him, twirling around to show off that they were fully clean, not even a single smudge of the usual grime on them.

Hopefully he was in a better mood than he had been, when he picked them up.

"Finally you are here!"

Completely taken aback Crowley spit his coffee back into the mug and coughed a few times to clear his throat. Walking over to them he squatted down and checked for any dirt or smudge, amazed to find none.

"What the hell happened? Did Anathema scrub you clean or something?"

"Nope!"

Polly's smile widened and they turned around to point to the stairs.

"He did it."

"He?"

As if on cue Aziraphale came down the stairs to see what kind of trouble Pollution was getting themselves into, and to get them out of it.

"Polly, dear, what's-"

The angel shut his mouth immediately as he spotted Crowley squatting next to them, his expression a mixture of relief, confusion, pain and happiness.

Confused the demon looked up and froze the instant he saw who was standing there.

His angel, in the doorway, looking at him with an unidentifiable expression on his face.

He immediately stood back up, spilling a bit of coffee, which dripped onto the floor. Taking a few steps back from them he stared out the window for a kind of improvised escape route, before giving Aziraphale an uneasy, anxious grin.

"Hey?"

"Hello", the angel replied and walked up closer to him, not sure if to be closer to him, or the kid.

"So this is where you went, would make sense to why you never picked up your phone when I called."

He could feel it and see it again. Crowley wanted to run off and act as if nothing had ever happened. This wasn't happening today, and if he had to force him to his luck, so be it.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was? You already killed yourself once this week, and you just disappeared **again**! You can't just do that! But now I found you here, with not just any demon, but Pollution, one of the horsemen, someone who brought the Apocalypse! Crowley, what are you even planning on doing? Just because of some small thing happening, you go out and run away now? What happened? What **happened** to you?"

He didn't take his eyes off of him and even grabbed him, not really forceful, but strong enough to show he was dead serious.

"What the hell am **I** doing? What the hell are YOU doing! Let go of me!"

Crowley struggled against the grip. It shouldn't have been that way, it should have all been easy. If only their agreement would still be in place and order, he'd use that to get out of it.

"Go! You shouldn't be here!"

He shooed Pollution away, glaring at them from behind his glasses. No matter what was going to happen now, the child shouldn't see it. Absolutely not.

"Leave!"

"But-"

"No, for that I have to agree. Go to Anathema and Newton."

The tone he spoke in was still soft, softer than when he spoke to Crowley, but it had something demanding in it which made Polly listen and run off where they were told to go.

Now that the kid was gone Aziraphale tightened his grip on Crowley. Never did he loose his calm, never had he truly been forceful, even when doing the work for Crowley before. This was different, this was personal.

"I am here because a poor young woman called and asked me to take care of Pollution, and yes, I know it's a stupid question to ask why you are here. Of course you are here because you couldn't even handle facing your own responsibilities, and now you are trying to **raise** a child! If you want to go down like that, fine, but I won't let you drag down more people with you, just because you can't cope with what's going on inside of you! And you know what the worst thing is? You haven't even just started doing that; you've done it for years. Maybe it is also my fault that you turned out like this, but can you just for **once** open your eyes, stand in front of me like you mean it and speak your mind, and not run off like a scaredy cat?! You are supposed to be a demon, Crowley! Sometimes I think I could be more demonic than you, and I am an angel! Well, at least **I** learned to not run away anymore."

If it had been any other situation, Crowley would have wondered about the phrasing. Ever since the beginning Aziraphale had not once spoken of himself in a way that would even compare him to a demon. And now he did.

But now wasn't the situation that Crowley would notice that. He was being held in a firm grip he couldn't escape from.

With a loud noise the cup he had been holding shattered on the floor, spilling the coffee everywhere. With two hands now he gripped onto the angel's arms that held him and pried at them with all the strength he could gather.

„I **told** her not to say anything! I **told** her not to call you! **This** isssss why I don‘t **fucking** trust anyone!“, he cried out.

His teeth were sharp like that of a snake and his tongue long and slim and split as he gradually lost control over himself.

„Thissss was never sssssssupposed to be like this! Ever since the beginning I was cast assssside and no one gave a shit! I didn‘t **want** to fall, I didn‘t **mean** to be caught up in the revolte, but think anyone gave a damn? No! And even after I fell! I didn‘t **mean** to fall for you! But I did! And I did everything I could to **not** be a demon! I had never wanted to be one anyway! And then I watch, and watch, and watch, and ssssssee the great flood and the killing of god‘s own sssssson! And no one gave a crap! I had tried my best to not let it end that way, to be who I alwayssssss was up in heaven! And no one gave a shit! Especially not you, the **only** fucking reason I was sssssstill trying and alive!“

His eyes glistened behind the glasses, sharp and bright yellow and the slits so narrow that you could barely make them out.

„So I gave up. I gave up! I admit to it, alright? I gave up on everything, essssspecially on myself!“

His grip grew stronger and stronger the more desperate he became and, with all his might, he pushed and pried and shoved the angel away from himself, pushing him against the counter so the edge painfully stabbed into his back.

He wouldn‘t give him a chance to say anything. He wouldn‘t give him a chance to interrupt him. He held his arms in a lock far up, putting his full weight behind pushing Aziraphale back.

„There _issssssss_ no point! Dolphins? You remember, yeah? That‘s what my point issss! There _is_ no point! No point behind anything! No point behind saving the earth, no point behind destroying it! There isssssn‘t even a point for me saying all this crap, or for you going after me!“

Tears wanted to roll down his cheeks, but snakes didn‘t cry, they couldn‘t, anatomically speaking. And Crowley had lost every last bit of his self that he was always so proud to have in order.

„ _Give up on me_ “, he cried, biting his lips.

„Give up on me already! I never wanted thisss! I never wanted to tell you! I never wanted to tell you that I love you.“

It was breaking, his voice. It broke and he needed a few seconds to regain it.

„Thisssss is all for nothing! Take them and leave! Leave me with nothing! There was never anything meant for me anyway!“

Aziraphale did nothing but wince when he was pushed against the counter, when the grip Crowley had on him turned from wanting to shake him off to leaving bruises.

Never had he seen him this out of it and scared. He had never really seen Crowley being scared at all. Now he had him in his face, seeing every little change in his emotions and heard even the tinniest shifting of pitches in his voice.

This wasn't about anything other than him being scared to loose everything he still had and be forgotten, thrown aside like heaven and hell had done.

His mouth opened when Crowley was done with his rant, but closed soon after. In this state he could tell him all that he thought about him, and how he wanted him to be happy, but he doubted it would come through.

The demon was a mess and more broken than the cup that laid shattered on the floor.

It didn't have to come this far, neither would have ever needed to worry about anything if they both hadn't been too scared to admit their flaws and fears.

There wasn't a word that could fix everything, no magic, nothing. The only way he could try was even making himself feel uncertain, but if he could get through to Crowley that way, he'd try. You can't break anything that isn't there anymore further.

He let him go, but not for long though. Instead of holding onto his clothes, his hands slid up to cup his face with so much care to not give off any hostile behavior and pulled him down to his level to push his mouth onto his.

He didn't need further complaints, insecurities, or hearing about how much who was at fault for what. He wanted to show him that he, in fact, did care a lot. He had cared for him for centuries and, even if that care hadn‘t always been love, it had still been there.

All he needed was for him to not see a reason to deny it, and for himself to make up a plan on how to find enough time put his thoughts into words.

This was the perfect solution he came up with. Simple and sweet, just how he liked it.

Crowley had already pressed his eyes shut when he felt the hands on his cheeks, though the touches were gentle. But what should he expect.

They were forced back open though when he felt it. Like a dead electronical circuit that had finally been connected back to a battery.

Their lips touched.

That thought set Crowley's every alarm sense off and spread through his whole body like fire.

Was it a dream? Was it a lie? 'Please don't let it be a lie', he thought.

The angel's lips were soft and well cared for, tasted like some kind of lip balm, very soft and sweet. Like his lips touched the clouds, and not the angel.

He was angry, so angry and scared, and wanted to disappear and unsay everything, while at the same he wanted nothing other than to stay.

Closing his eyes Crowley didn't dare to push into the kiss. But he let it happen, not sure if for his or the other's sake.

His grip loosened and his hands fell limp to the side. His teeth, what if he hurt him? Or his tongue, what if it felt weird for the angel?

That way he didn't let the kiss go on for too long. He gradually backed away, slightly, ever so slightly, slipped his head out of the other's grip until they were separated, though close. Very, very close.

" _Don't_ ", he whispered.

"I will not want to leave again."

It was such a disappointment that Crowley pulled away from the kiss, and even more so that he didn't quite react to it.

Aziraphale hadn't expected much from it, but was still disappointed.

Never had he ever thought about holding grudges and being selfish, not until a few days ago had he even thought he was capable of feeling such things, but since the talk they had had not too long ago he wanted him. Not just to be close to him in calm silence or to share dinner, no. He wanted him in every way, and no one, not hell, not heaven, not humanity, no one could have him the way he wanted him.

Shaking his head to get that thought out of his head for now he rather focused back to what was going on now.

"Crowley, I never wanted you to leave. Never have I even thought of the possibility to have you leaving in the first place."

He pulled his hands back to himself and allowed himself to finally get that sharp corner of the counter away from his back.

"Why would you think that you ever have to leave?"

"Because i'm wrong."

Crowley stared a little blankly at the angel, his thoughts screaming and silent at the same time.

"I made too many mistakessssss. I don't belong anywhere anymore. I messed it all up. There's nowhere for me to go."

He glanced upwards, his hands shaky, clenching and unclenching on their own.

"If I were gone, it would all be easier on you. It would- no. It sssssshould have been all easier. You could have been an angel, you could have listened to the divine plan, _you could have been fine_."

Taking a deep breath he calmed his hands until they felt limp and cold.

"But I messed it up. I couldn't leave you. I couldn't let you go."

"Remember when I gave away my sword or when I shielded you from the rain all those years ago? We weren't friends then, we had only just met. Already then I went against what heaven wanted from me. You may have made mistakes, but so have I, and if I'd have the choice to start all over again, I don't think I'd do anything differently."

A little hesitant the angel took Crowley's hand and intertwined his fingers with his.

"I shouldn't be an angel anymore for many reasons, only a few because of you. But did the Almighty make me fall? No. It was all part of her plan; she wanted it to turn out like this. She also knew you weren't really in any right to fall. If I had to guess to why you were casted out, it would probably be because you were too holy. You saw heaven. I didn't get a trial, they wanted me gone, kill me as soon as possible to have no one question things to find out what they were really like. I'm glad you showed me how heaven is really like. I'm glad you question everything and made me do the same. Without you having been there, I wouldn't even be alive. There is so much I need to thank you for, you just can't see it."

"Don't make it sound like we're just pawnssss in the ineffable plan", the demon started quietly.

He didn't like the idea that it was still god's doing that it had ended out like this. It was his- no. Their own doing. They had made it this far. No plan, no god, no heaven and hell. Just them.

"I can't sssssee it. I don't think I ever will. I don't agree with you. I don't."

His voice was shaky. But when his hands were held by the other, he gripped onto him and let his head hang low.

"Don't thank me for anything, please. I really don't deserve it."

"You don't have to agree with me, but I won't stop speaking my mind when it comes to how I see you, and how thankful I am to have you."

Crowley slowly let himself be pulled in by the angel's soft and calm voice, and the nice words, and the gentle touches, and pushed his head against Aziraphale's shoulder.

"...just let me be selfish. Let me ssssstay with you."

"Please, be as selfish as you want."

Aziraphale sighed softly as he put his arm around him, running his hand up and down the demon's back while he still held his hand. Just like that, years worth of waiting for either one of them to make the right move, were over. Clearly this was just a step into the new direction, but a massive, and a good one.

Heaven and hell could still show up and ruin everything in a matter of seconds, but there wasn't time for that thought. This wasn't about worrying, it was about enjoying each other's company.

The demon nodded slightly and pushed himself farther into the angel. It felt so...good to hear those words, to feel the others warmth and the soft and plump fingers gently drawing circles on his back.

Up and down, up and down.

Slowly his heartbeat calmed just slightly as he got a bit of his self control back, just enough that his speech pattern calmed and his teeth grew to be less sharp and big.

He wanted to say thank you, he really did, but he couldn't get it off his tongue. Only the heavy breaths that he concentrated on to settle down left his throat.


	13. To Another 6000 Years Together

It was nice to feel the warmth and love radiating off of the demon, even if there were still things mixed in the rather not have there now. It had been rare enough to feel it this strong.

Back then when he had felt it it was quickly hidden again either when he mentioned it or when Crowley himself caught onto it that the angel could feel it. Then he would suppressed it himself again.

There wasn't a need for suppression anymore, though he was already suspecting the demon to still go and try to hide his emotions from him.

"What have you planned on doing now? I mean, now you don't want to leave anymore, are you coming back to London?"

"Yeah. Have a child to care for", he mumbled and pushed himself away from the angel with a bit of hesitation, slipping his hand away from the others.

Though he really did want to keep feeling him, it also made him tingly and oversensitive and feel...strange and overwhelmed.

With a quick movement he ruffled through his hair and straightened up, gnashing his teeth once to make sure that they were flat and fine.

"I should...uh...go get them."

Slowly, very slowly, now that the darkest of emotions vanished back to the darkest place of his mind he actually realized what it meant what had been said and that the closeness not only made him tingly but burn up and shy and embarrassed. Which was embarrassing as is, a grown up adult demon.

"Right, the kid."

He had momentarily forgotten that they were still standing in Anathema's cottage and actually had a responsibility.

"So it was you who they made their father. Explains some things."

At the mention of getting them he made a wide hand gesture to let him go ahead to pick them up. He knew they weren't an actual child but he could still treat them like it unless the young demon would go ahead and try to kill him for it.

"I dunno. They found me, clung to me, called me their dad. You know."

The demon deliberately forgot to mention what they had said about the angel and about hurting him. Best to leave that out.

"Going with the flow. It's a good opportunity actually to stop Pollution from...you know, polluting. Makes for some more comfortable time on earth."

He shrugged and walked out and into the living room, certain that the angel would follow.

Pollution was as, usual, quietly sitting on the couch as far away from the couple as possible and stared straight ahead, waiting for something to happen that involved them.

Newton only looked up slightly when the demon snuck into the room. He wouldn't dare to mention what all the yelling had been about. Half of it he had heard anyway. But they seemed relaxed enough that he deemed it worked out so he concentrated back on the book he was holding.

Aziraphale refrained from making a comment on if it was the right thing to do to stop the demon from doing what they were born to do. It was giving him all kinds of signals that it was wrong to change them to how they wanted them to be but Crowley was right. It would be nicer and if they were doing anything wrong, they'd notice anyway, so he followed him wordless to let him do the talking.

When they saw the pair entering the room Pollution turned to face them, expression blank. If they were going to get yelled at too it was easier to not show the new kinds of emotions they had picked up to anger the others further.

"Come here."

Crowley gestured for them to come over, squatting down.

Getting off of the couch they slowly made their way over to him, pulling on their sleeves.

"Alright."

A little awkwardly he closed his arms around them and ruffled through their hair, pulling them close like that for just a second before he let them go and stood back up.

"We're going home."

Why exactly had he hugged them? For starters, an apology. For yelling at them and being rude. For second? Well, who knew. His emotions were all over the place.

"Oh, yeah. That might interest you two loverbirds too. We're leaving."

Taken aback by the hug they didn't react too much to it and kept completely still while it lasted, too stunned to do anything besides taking it happily.

Anathema ripped her eyes away from the book and wasn't too sure about how to react to the news without being too rude.

"I wouldn't say that I hated you being here but I am glad you are going. You are still always welcome here though, if it won't be for too long that is."

"You can say it, we were a damn nuisance. You still agreed to play nanny for them from time to time. So we'll get back to being that."

He gave her a half assed grin trying to sound and look confident in himself before he turned around and waved.

"Don't let yourselves get caught by Adam. Polly seeing you is one thing. The kids, eh, might come back to bite you."

Without even waiting for a response he already walked out. Angel and Polly would follow, he thought. He really just wanted to go home now

"Yeah, yeah, see you tomorrow when you need help again!", Anathema called after him with a small smile and waved them goodbye so she could go back to the book and their alone time.

Aziraphale put his hand on Pollution's back to make them move along to follow Crowley outside. Outside the Bentley was already waiting for them so they could get started to go on their trip home.

Had Aziraphale come by car? Had he just not seen it before? No, he would have seen it. Must have miracled it here, Crowley thought. There was no way he'd miss his beloved car no matter if he had lost his head someplace else.

Opening the car door he gestured for Pollution and the angel to get in.

"Ride home? I'll take you anywhere you want."

Ah, the reminiscence. The last time he had said that had been in the 80s, or had it been the 70s? Well, at least he knew that the outcome hadn't been good. So what else to do than take that memory and make it into something good, he now had the chance to after all.

Since Pollution had nothing to do with any of this they rushed over to the car and climbed into the backseat to await getting taken somewhere else.

At the question the angel at first thought of the rejection from his side. At that time he simply hadn‘t been able to spend more time with the demon, too afraid that it would have been the last time he would see him.

Taking away the worry he felt that day he much rather focused on how things were now. So instead of rejecting him again he placed his hand on his chest with a fond smile.

"Not your apartment, not with Pollution. They'd do terrible things to your plants. How about my place and I'll get us some of the best wine I kept. Sounds good?"

"Sounds good", he shrugged and resisted the urge to touch Zira's hand. Instead he turned around a little flustered and stepped inside the car, gripping tight onto the steering wheel, tapping it while he watched the angel sit down next to him.

"Music? And don't gimme that beebop bull again."

"Put on whatever. I got used to most of the things you listen to by now."

Aziraphale pulled a bit at his clothes after he had shifted around in his seat to get into a comfortable position and folded his hands in his lap.

"As long as we will reach London in one piece I have no complaints about anything, that includes your tastes in music."

"Oh now that's real nice. You got USED to my music, I feel honored", he started mocking him and stepped hard on the gas.

The engine roared up and the tires squeeked a little painful and then they were on the road.

The angel's hands shot up to grip onto the first thing available, which usually was the sides of the passenger seat, and gave him a side glance. If he wouldn't trust him he would never even take a step near his car, let alone keep agreeing to him taking him anywhere.

"Yeah, I got **used** to your music!"

Aziraphale answered with a bit too much vigour maybe at which Crowley sighed.

"There should be some CDs around here. Just put one in."

Picking up on the offer he opened the glovebox and reached into it to pull out a random CD and popped it into the radio. It didn't matter what it was, he just wanted to have literally anything other than the noises the car gave off to accompany their trip.

"As an explanation: It helped me countless of times to not focus on the fact that you are driving like a suicidal maniac!"

"No i'm not driving like a suicidal maniac. If I drove like a suicidal maniac I would have already crashed us somewhere or I would try myself at being a wrong-way driver."

He looked at the angel a little confused.

"There's nothing wrong with driving a little faster than the speed limit, humans do it all the time. You'd enjoy it i've you'd try it."

"I didn't mean it like you actually want to kill yourself. I meant it more like you could potentially kill yourself on accident like that. You have hit Anathema before. Luckily you just hit her and didn't run her over."

"I didn't hit her, I told you! She hit me! She crashed right into me and even damaged my poor Bentley! I had to miracle the dent away and it still feels like it's there sometimes!"

"I could have miracled it away if you would have asked and she didn't hit into you. If it makes you happier then you both hit into each other!"

Aziraphale frowned and nodded over to Polly who had sat there and listened to them talking without interfering.

"But you have to be a rolemodel now."

Crowley pouted and turned to look at the child.

"Once you're old enough to get a drivers license, buy your own car. This is mine. No one drives it aside from me."

"That is not what I meant about you having to be a role model for them!"

"I know how to deal with cars. I in some parts helped to invent them back then."

Polly leaned forwards, peaking their head out between them with a satisfied look, running their hands over the dashboard cover.

"So many people have died already through these. One of my finest inventions."

"Oh god, now there we have it. Thanks to you they are now talking about death."

Crowley looked back onto the street.

"Killing people is bothersome and it's boring. Rather make them go crazy over some stuff like that child abuse incident and watch the chaos. That's fun."

"Hm... Makes sense actually. Maybe I need to think of something new for the future...", they trailed off as they thought further on how to torment humanity to slow down the process of bringing it to self destruction.

"What? No, don't do that! Things are ok as they are! Well, not quite, but the earth doesn't need more destruction!"

Frustrated the angel turned to the young demon and pushed them with as little force as possible back to sit down.

"Also, how is this my fault? Oh forget it, get us home. We can talk about this some other time."

"Whatever you say, angel." He stepped even further on the gas and enjoyed the speed his car took up as he drove towards Aziraphale's bookshop.

With the way Crowley drove it didn't take much longer until they had reached the bookshop to the angel's relief but to the small demon's disliking. They missed going fast from one point to the other without magic, they missed their bike and while this wasn't the same, it was at least close to it.

Shaking their head, Pollution jumped out of the car and scanned the street, watching some people for a bit too long to be deemed comfortable.

The demon quickly jumped out of the car and pulled Pollution along by the collar and into the shop.

"Where can I drop them off?"

He gave Aziraphale a questioning look and pointed upstairs. He wanted to get them into their room as quickly as possible so he could have some alone time with the angel. He'd just quickly tell them how to message Adam and how to download games on their phone so they wouldn't get bored.

"First room on the left should be fine for them for now", Aziraphale called after them as he watched Crowley disappearing behind the bookshelfs while he had just entered and locked the door behind himself.

While Crowley was gone he went to grab the promised wine and two wineglasses before sitting down and waiting for his return.

"Why can't I stay with you? Why do I have to be here?"

Pollution unwillingly let themselves get dragged along upstairs, whining at the way they were treated all of the sudden.

"Because I need to have a talk with Aziraphale. Alone."

He pushed the door open and found a room that was only slightly less clattered than the others rooms. Sighing he shook his head at the mess and freed at least the bed from the chaos, miracling the stuff into his own room.

"Also you need to make yourself at home. This is your room now. You can keep anything you want in here of Zira's stuff or put it outside in the hallway if you don't. Since you'll be living here now most of the time you should, I don't know, put some poster on the wall or hang up a shirt. Whatever. Just don't make anymore a chaos out of it as it already is. Now give me your phone."

He took it from them and opened the app store, quickly searching and downloading a few apps he liked to play himself.

"Look through it and if you find a game that interests you, download it and play it. To kill some time. Got it? Good. Now don't disturb us."

He pat them and quickly left the room to rejoin Aziraphale downstairs.

There wasn't much time to react to what was going on. They just took in the information, blinked a couple of times to process everything and when they came back to the present they were alone. Fairly enough Polly had something to do so they didn't care much.

The angel patiently waited for Crowley to join him. He had already filled their glasses and gotten himself more comfortable by removing his coat and hanging it over the chair at his desk.

It didn't take long until Crowley came hurrying down the stairs to him. Not being able to help himself Aziraphale chuckled softly and held out a glass for his partner.

"No need to hurry like that. We have all the time in the world."

Crowley quickly took it from him, fingers brushing past the others. It had always felt special when they had touched, especially while most of it had been accidental, but now it felt even worse, for some reason. Quickly he pulled his hand away and started nipping at the wine.

"This isn't the wine from that day, is it?"

"No, it isn't. I didn't want anything here that was a reminder of that day so I got rid of it."

He took a sip from his own drink. The fact that Crowley pulled his hand away from him faster than necessary went unnoticed to him and even if he would have noticed, he wouldn't have made a fuss over it. Now he wanted to avoid as many things that could end up causing to ask too many questions and ruining whatever there was to ruin.

"Well then."

He took a large gulp of the wine and sat down on the sofa. He wanted to ask about the kiss and about if he could call him his boyfriend now, or if he was maybe wrong and the kiss had meant somtething else.

How was he supposed to know if the angel actually knew what it meant to kiss someone like that. Subconsciously he licked his lips and flushed a bit red. quickly draining his glass. Pushing his glasses up he pointed to the door.

"Did you put the sign to close?"

"First thing I do each time is to close the shop. Especially since that little incident with Shadwell I have been more careful about locking everything. No one will bother us", he declared and went to refill Crowley's glass for him.

It didn't mean much for them to be alone. They had been for so long already but this felt different. Not the same as the quiet evenings they had spent together or even when they were celebrating that the world hadn't ended; this was so much more than that. This was the type of situation when you had no clue about any possible outcomes but you didn't feel threatened or afraid of what would happen.

Simply, it was a situation he craved to see the outcomes to without letting it show too much.

"Shadwell."

Crowley let out a sharp laugh and made a wide handgesture.

"Who actually would have thought that our agent turned out to be the same. The same dunce. When did you come in contact with fanatic witch hunters though? I always thought you wouldn't support someone who goes around yelling that we should set people on fire."

He flashed Aziraphale a grin and leaned against the backrest, swirling the wine around a little in his glass.

"Quite the coincidence, yes."

Aziraphale took a sip before he continued:

"I am not believing in burning anyone. I hired him for the purpose of having someone with the knowledge of supernatural phenomenon on earth. I didn't know by that time that he was as clueless as everyone else."

"Oh he is stupid, alright. But he was stupid enough to take such jobs. And he was dependant on me financially so it was pretty easy."

"It is a bit sad though. That poor man went crazy over it and eventually ended up alone to most parts. Hopefully it will go better for him now."

Crowley watched the wine and took another few sips. Raising an eyebrow he looked back at the angel.

"Do you want to keep standing forever?"

Slightly confused Aziraphale looked at him before he realized he was still standing in front of him and laughed it off.

"I don't see a point in why it would matter if I'd keep standing or not but if it bothers you that much-"

He sat down next to him. Not like usual on the other end of the sofa but right next to him, no trace of personal space in sight.

"Better?"

Flinching at the sudden closeness he spilled his wine on the sofa and cursed. Wiping at it he quickly miracled it away but he needed to refill his drink now. So he stood up, walked over to get the bottle, filled his glass back up and walked with both things in his hands back to the sofa but sat down a few inches further away from the angel so his mind wouldn't short circuit.

" _Don'tjustsitdownthereyouidiot_ ", he grumbled and downed more wine, careful to not look at him to show the red hue on his cheeks.

"Right, sorry."

A little disappointed he emptied his glass and held it out to Crowley, silently asking for a refill. That didn't quite go as he thought it would, best keep his distance and let Crowley do the first moves then.

He had only wanted to turn around and refill the glass but when he saw expression on the angel's face he felt guilty.

"Fuck, alright-", he mumbled and scooted back over to the other, silently grabbing his hand with the glass to pull him closer and refill.

Letting him go again he placed the bottle on the ground and shifted around, rasing his glass toward's Aziraphale for a toast.

"To our...uh, I don't know..."

He fumbled around with the words for a moment before he managed to look the angel in the eyes and bring out the words.

"Can I call you my uh…", he cleared his throat before he continued, a little quieter: "Lover now?"

He wanted to protest about him moving over, that he didn't need to do anything he didn't want to. The closeness made his complaints die in his throat though as he took his hand, even if it just was to refill the glass.

The instant the innocent question was thrown out there he smiled fondly at him.

"Of course you can."

At the uncertainty of what to toast to he thought for a moment until he got an idea, raising his glass.

"How about we toast to another 6000 years good years that we will, this time, officially spend together?"

"To another 6000 years, together", he repeated and pushed his glass against the others before retreating and downing it, shaking his head at the bitter taste.

Still a bad idea to drink wine all at once.

"Angel."

He flashed him a smile and got the bottle to fill his glass up once more. After all, what better to celebrate than after 6000 damned years finally getting together with the love of his life.

It still felt absolutely surreal and he was sure that if he'd go to sleep, when he'd wake up, he'd be thinking that this was all a dream. After all he had yelled at Aziraphale and pushed him away and ran off and after so much time of suffering silently? It was just so sudden. Though that didn‘t mean that it felt less good.

The angel shook his head at the way Crowley emptied the glass in one go. He'd never understand how he couldn't take it slow and enjoy the moment but he wasn't one to judge.

Relaxed he sipped on his drink and couldn't help but to gaze at him lovingly. There wasn't a need to hide any kind of affection and he wouldn't hide it unless it didn't feel right.

For a moment the silence became unbearably heavy almost. None of them knew what to talk about or when to speak, it was just...new. A new kind of situation none of them had ever been in. And there was so much to talk about, but nothing really seemed appropiate in the moment.

So after a while of silent drinking Crowley finally gathered enough courage to speak up again.

"I don't care for what reason, but don't ever let others touch your wings again."

He gave Aziraphale a pouty look.

He had expected a lot of things they could talk about, this wasn't one of them.

"You make it sound like I do that more often, I only did it to help you get your body back."

He shifted to put the, by now, empty glass on the ground next to the sofa to have it out of the way.

„Why does it bother you so much? It wasn't that big of a deal, really. Judging by what was going on at the time it was an appropriate thing to do."

"No it wasn't! You let a child touch it with their...their grimy and slimy hands full of dirt and bugs and fleas! You can't sully your wings like that! You're an angel!"

Making a gesture towards his shoulders the demon grimaced as he imagined it.

"No matter what, don't let anyone touch your wings like that! What if they had gotten something on it? Or had snapped a feather?? Didn't you even rip a feather out and give it to them? Don't EVER do that again!"

He emptied his glass in one go and put it away as well, looking at Aziraphale with a kind of furious and worried expression.

"Crowley..."

He wasn't sure if to be irritated by how furious Crowley was over this or if he should feel touched due to the worry over something ruining his wings. He settled for both. On one side it was sweet to have someone worrying but on the other he was old enough to know himself what was best.

"Dear, everything is fine. It wasn't that big of a deal. I know how to take care of my wings to keep them clean and looking the same as always. One feather less won't be the death of me. If you really insist that I won't let anyone touch them again, I suppose I won't do it anymore unless absolutely necessary, ok?"

He nodded but still looked a little unconvinced.

"Show me."

Despite him not seeing a need to he extended his wings, sighing softly as the tensions of keeping them cramped up and hidden left.

"See? They are fine, no damage done by the kid."

Crowley could swear that if he wouldn't be wearing his sunglasses, the bright white colour of the angel's wings would have blinded him. They were pure and white and looked so very soft. Now that he thought about it, it had been nearly 6000 years since he had last seen Aziraphale's wings up close. Armageddon didn't count and neither did when he had been revived by Adam, he hadn't had the time to focus on that then.

They were perfect. Aziraphale must have spent a lot of time caring for them and nurturing them to keep them in such a perfect state.

Unlike him.

His wings were grimy and there was probably still ash from falling on them since he had never again bothered to clean them. Not since the revolte.

And the scent. He was oversensitive to smells either way but this was just...amazing. From the moment they were unfolded the air tasted fluffy and cloudy and sweet. Like his angel did too. A true angel's scent.

The other probably couldn't smell it, but he did all the more. And it made him fidgety and squirming around in his seat as he stared at them, admiring the perfect beauty.

All the while he let Crowley stare all the wanted, only having to break eye contact to him every now and then. It wasn't anything too special to show, just a normal pair of wings but maybe that had been the point.

To him his wings were nothing special, he had had them for centuries and only paid much mind to them when it was time to clean them. For Crowley that must have been something entirely different.

The demon had lost his pearly white wings when he fell. When he thought back to their first meeting the could remember the smell of burnt feathers, the tiniest hint of a fiery scent and that, after the shock of having a demon come up and talk to him, he thought, that under what was left of his fall, his charcoal black wings had to look beautiful too.

"Can I see yours too?", he caught himself asking without thinking much of it.

Needing a moment to register being talked to he backed off a little and looked around the room as if to search for the one Aziraphale was talking to.

"Mine?"

He felt his heart beating faster as anxiety took him over. His wings were ugly. The proof that he had fallen and he had neglected them for centuries.

"You wouldn't wanna see mine. They're black and reek and feel weird, as that boy stated before. You'd be better off not seeing them."

"They are a part of you I'd love to see as well, no matter how they look like. I still love everything about you, including them."

He reached out to him, taking his hands in his with a gentle squeeze.

„...Unless you are too ashamed of them to show me, in that case I'd understand if you want to keep them tucked away."

"I-"

He bit his lip and sighed. The gentle grip in which his hands were held made him melt though he was very unsure about it. Still, he extended his wings with a guilty look.

They felt...weird. The feathers were stuck together and dirty and some of them lay in the wrong places from using them to fly. It was really embarrassing to show them while in front of him there were those beautiful ones.

Crowley didn't even dare to say anything, only gripped onto the other, his gaze fixed on the sofa and his wings trembling as they felt too heavy and out of place.

"Oh dear", were the first words that came to him as he inspected the wings with his eyes.

From what he could tell, they weren't something that needed to be hidden if they were getting taken care of properly. They were neither horribly out of place nor crooked, just dirty and unkempt.

Tearing his eyes away from the demon's wings to focus on his face he freed one of his hands to use it to lift his gaze.

"When was the last time you have cleaned them?"

The demon bit his lips, trying his best to still avoid having to look the angel in the eyes. It felt really stupid talking about that now.

"A few days before I fell", he admitted with a forced smile, pushing his wings as close to his body as he could so they wouldn't use up space or accidentally spread around dirt and dust. He wouldn't be surprised if some of his feathers would come loose too.

That explained a lot. There were centuries worth of ashes and grime on them, no wonder he didn't like to show them off.

Slowly he let go of his head and reached for one of his wings to run his hand through it, already feeling some of the ashes falling out of it and a whole lot more that was covering his hand when he pulled it back.

Their wings must be a sensitive subjects to demons. He didn't know many but besides Crowley showing them rarely, he had never seen another one use them.

"This needs to change now. I can't let you keep your wings like this for much longer", he declared and got up.

" We need to do something about them now."

Crowley had been about to apologize when he saw not only the other's hand but also the black spots he left on the sofa and floor and carpet, when the angel already stood up and seemed ready to change that.

"What?"

He had expected to be scolded for not taking care of them, or had expected to be met with disgust at his wings. But what he met was just...something that felt like worry and determination to clean them. Well, Aziraphale was very cleanly after all.

The angel beckoned him to follow him upstairs to the bathroom.

"We need to get them cleaned up. I can promise you that you will feel better afterwards."

Sure, he couldn't promise that but he was pretty sure that at least some weight would be lifted off of his shoulders, quite literally, and while that wasn't too much, it was a start.

"But-"

He wanted to complain about it, that it shouldn't be his job to do it but he just shut up and followed him, the pure, white wings always in his face, right in front of him.

He could touch them, maybe would have even if he wouldn't feel so anxious about his own. So instead he just got swayed by the scent and waited for the angel to lead him.

Shushing him he took his hand and dragged him along up the stairs, past Pollution's room and into the bathroom that was big enough that they could spread out their wings to full extent.

Once inside he sealed the door shut with a little miracle before letting go of the demon to miracle a stool in front of the bathtub.

"Now, I think it would be a good idea for you to take off your shirt so it won't get wet and dirty. Then, please take a seat there", he pointed at the stool as he pulled back his sleeves before going to grab a few more things.

"My-?"

Yeah, right. Taking his shirt off.

"You sure it won't work while wearing it", he asked a little hesitant while he slowly walked over to the stool, anxiously watching the angel.

"You could keep it on but I don't know if it's too pleasant to have it sticking to you until I'm done.“

He came back over to him, placing each item on the floor next to them.

"Do whatever is most comfortable for you."

Turning bright red he gritted his teeth and quickly slipped out of his shirt, letting it fall on the floor a bit away from him together with his tie. Sitting down he crouched his upper body a little so he didn't feel as visible and vulnerable.

Pushing his face into his hands he spread his wings just slightly, dirt crumbling off and ash sprinkling down, a feather loosening and sauntering downwards.

Lucky for him he didn't have much feel in his wings at the moment, else he would have been ashamed for it.


	14. Wings And Sensitivity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to post the wing scene and smut together, but turned out that would have maybe turned out a little long for one chapter

Wordless he slipped behind him, gently running his hands through his feathers to remove some of the filth that was more easily removable already. After some time of having him very precisely going over each wing to ruffle out little clumps of dirt, he shook off what stuck to his hand.

A shiver shook Crowley's body the first moment when his wings were touched and he clawed into his face to not jump up and fold his wings back together. But he stayed through it, silently pushing his feet down, his wings only flinching once before they just trembled and moved along with the angel's touches.

"Still doing ok?", Aziraphale asked to reassure himself that he wasn't pushing the demon too far already.

"It's fine, keep going", Crowley muttered through his hands, taking a few deep breaths.

There were a lot of factors that made him freak out, but he did his best to stay calm. Well, as calm as he could.

Putting each reaction he pulled from the demon as a natural reaction to not being used to it, the angel didn't make any more comments. Next thing he did was pick up the showerhead and turn on the water, waiting for it to be neither too warm nor too cold, but just good enough to be soothing before he let the water run over his wings.

With touches that were so light that they could barely be registered, he moved the feathers aside to make sure that every little part of his wings got wet. It was quite the effort to keep his touches light to prevent him pulling out any feathers and also work all the way through Crowley's massive wings, but he was patient.

The fact that he took his time might have made sure that he covered every part of them, but it also meant he took double the time before he first dropped the showerhead into the tub to pick up the soap. Just like with getting them wet he took his sweet time massaging through the feathers to get them soaped up. Once that was out of the way he stopped to let it soak in for a few minutes and leaned over the tub to kiss the back of the demon's neck.

"You are doing so good, dear."

Somewhere during the procedure the demon had relaxed enough to slip his hands from his face, groaning subconsciously in pleasure at the soft touches caressing and massaging his wings, softly ruffling through his feathers. It felt like every feather of his got it's own special attention from the angel while it was cleaned.

The trembles and shivers had switched from being due to fear to savouring every touch, and he had started nudging the other's hands every now and then with his wings as encouragment to keep going. So as he felt the hands leaving him he let out a whine and was about to complain as the other's lips were pressed onto his neck.

He flinched and let out a surprised hiss, arching his back and pushing himself closer into the angel. He wasn't nice, he wasn't good, he wasn't any of that. But since hell had let him loose he had stopped freaking out at it. And while he did disagree and deny it every time, he couldn't deny the fluttery feeling he got when he was praised.

It felt so...nice and good and made him eager for more. As a response he moaned quietly and threw his head back, closing his eyes.

The angel had spent the time waiting while letting his fingers glide up and down the demon's back, rubbing the flesh where his wings connected to his body and went back to work after giving him another quick kiss to his back.

Picking up the showerhead again he washed out the already slightly dried in soap, watching the blackened water going down the drain. He kept up his work until the only thing that came dripping down Crowley's wings was clean water.

For a second he let the excess water drip back into the tub as he went to grab a blow dryer and set it to the lowest setting to help the drying process in a way that would not damage the now soft feathers in the least.

A lot of time had passed since they had entered the bathroom, but the result was more than pleasing. When the feathers were completely dry, all he still did was smooth each feather down to lay perfect as it should, which didn't take as long as it should have since he had already started on one wing while he had been still drying the other.

By the time Aziraphale was fully done it was dark outside, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Crowley's wings were spotless clean.

Experimentally he broadly ran his hand through the feathers and nodded to himself. None of them had the same feel of being stiff and sticky anymore; they all felt soft and smelt of fresh water and the soap he had used.

"I believe my job is done. They look even better than I had imagined, if I'm honest. I'm so glad you let me do this. They look stunning now. You should have kept them clean all the time. What a shame that you kept this beauty hidden!"

He rambled on as he twirled a feather around his finger: "Simply gorgeous."

The demon had kept as still as he could all the while letting out occasional deep breaths, moans or whines at the soft handling he received. It was amazing.

Once his wings were cleaned it felt like a huge weight had fallen of him. Not only the weight of his dirty wings but a part of his fall. It felt like a part of himself that he had lost when he had been cast out, had been redeemed, had been fixed.

He didn't smell charcoal and flames anymore and the stench of rotting dirt, but only a nice smell of shampoo and soap and water and the angel. Like this he felt like he could finally overcome the pain of being burnt alive, of feeling his wings being torn at and crumbling to pieces.

His wings, tormented and ugly, felt nice and even...beautiful.

It felt like he could maybe even start to be proud of them. Be proud of the charcoal wings that were proof of his rebellion. He could feel every inch of them clearly and oversensitively, finally felt them again after the fall had numbed and dirtied them.

It was his fault for never trying to get over it, but even if he had cleaned them himself, he didn't think it would have turned out the same. It was the mixture of the gentle touches, the soft praises and the amazement radiating off of his angel that made him feel strong; that made him feel like he could do anything, feel like he was ready to move on.

A hunger rose inside of him, a deep longing to keep this feeling, to keep this moment. Every time he was praised on the beauty of his wings he felt tingly and felt like giving in, giving everything he was and owned to the angel.

"Are they really that beautiful?", he managed to utter quietly, flapping his wings slightly and carefully, turning his head to look at Aziraphale with a longing and lost expression on his face.

"They are. I always knew that you were hiding something from me, and today I discovered what I was missing out on. The wait was truly worth it."

Aziraphale walked around the tub to sit down on the floor by his side, eyes shifting from the wings to the demon's face. He couldn't help but smile at the new expression on his partner's face and hoped he could keep it for as long as possible.

All of Crowley was beautiful, even before he had thought about loving him he had thought he had been beautiful, and this...THIS was all he had ever hoped for to see in his life. He would have fallen just to get this sight for himself.

Almost immediately when Aziraphale sat down next to him the demon wrapped his wing around the other and pulled him closer into a tight hug protected by it, pushing his lips onto the angel's.

He didn't know how he should thank him for all this. Frankly speaking, he couldn't thank him for all this. Because no matter how he would try to phrase it, there was no way to express how much this helped him, and how much this meant for him. So he only followed his instincts, and his instincts told him to be as close to the angel as he possibly could.

Being suddenly pulled closer was surprising enough, but feeling Crowley's lips on his again, this time it not being him who started the kiss, was a whole different thing. Paired with the warmth of the demon's body against his, and being surrounded by his wings, left him feeling even better.

After the surprise faded Aziraphale threw his arms around his demon and kissed him back lovingly, giving him the same amount of love back as he was giving him in this moment.

The demon basically melted into the touch and let Aziraphale take the lead almost immediately when he responded to the kiss. His mind was being flooded and felt all cloudy and he couldn't form a coherent thought or a sentence.

"Wings", he whispered into the kiss while he cupped the angel's face, running his hands up into his hair where he started twirling around the curls and pushing him further against himself that way.

"What about them, dear?", the angel asked when he pulled back to take a breath before going back to pushing their lips together. Not only was the demon's unique taste something that could get him addicted, the unusual soft touches were having an effect on him too.

A whine escaped Crowley and he instinctively gripped onto Aziraphale a little stronger, clinging to him without really hurting him.

"Your wings", he somehow managed to voice, desperately trying to prolong this moment, though he felt his breath giving out.

This time when he pulled away Aziraphale refrained from going back to kissing him, just pressed their foreheads together to enjoy the effect the kiss left.

"I think you need to be more specific."

He slid his hands from his back to his sides, rubbing small circles into them.

By now Crowley was panting to regain his breath and gave Aziraphale a bit of a lost look. "Your wings."

His grip weakened and he slid his hands down to his back where he rubbed over the part where they connected to the others body. Or would, if the angel hadn't folded them back together and hid them before to make it easier to work.

"I want...to touch your wings."

He was longing for this, he wanted this more than anything else, though it made him embarrassed to say it out loud.

"You want to touch them?"

Aziraphale raised a brow. "Weren't you saying that no one should touch them?"

Flashing him a smug smile he planted a kiss to his chin and pulled away a bit further to have him fully on display.

The demon looked guilty as the angel said that and looked to the ground, retreating his wings to himself. "I'm sorry-"

You could compare him to a lost puppy how he sat there, guiltily keeping his head hanging low and biting his lips.

"Please", he begged after a moment, looking up at the angel again.

"I just didn't want anyone else...touching you", he admitted sheepishly.

"Selfish, are we? I suppose since you helped me so many times already you deserve this. Lucky for you that I love you."

Without hesitation the angel extended his wings, folding them around his lover so he could reach them with more ease.

"Ah..."

In a matter of seconds Crowley was surrounded by that angelic smell again. This time only it engulfed him, and it was heavy enough that it blocked all of his senses off and instead filled it with only them.

With trembling hands he brushed against the feathers, twirling them around his fingers carefully. For him it was like catnip to a cat; it intoxicated him. With one miracle his glasses were gone and he pushed his face into the soft feathers with a clouded expression, nuzzling them and taking deep breaths. They were even softer than they looked, made him feel like he was diving in clouds.

Shifting closer to the angel he put his head on his shoulder, breathing heavily into his ear for a moment, his self control gone to pieces, before he pushed his face into the wings once more, experimentally licking over one of the feathers with a forked tongue.

It tasted sweet, and considering his sensitive snakelike tongue, the sensations were doubled and made him let out soft whines and moans at the pleasure.

A shiver ran down the angel's spine at the sensation of having Crowley running his tongue over the insides of his wings. He knew fully well about all the pleasures humans were capable of experiencing, this could be described as something close to it yet better. He'd gladly indulge in it, let the squirming demon do as he pleased, but he had other plans for now.

He let it continue to have him rubbing himself against him and practically drooling over his wings, but eventually grabbed him to pull him close and snapped his fingers to get them off of the tiles. If his Crowley wanted this, his Crowley wouldn't only get to sit there and push his face into him. Oh no, he deserved more.

From the bathroom he miracled them into the bedroom they would be sharing every now and then, and held the demon with his back pressed to his chest in his lap, head resting on his shoulder as he showered it in tiny kisses while watching him.


	15. First Time

In his daze the demon only half realized that the environment had changed; it mattered to him more that he had been pulled off his precious wings. But it was compensated for when he felt the kisses, felt them leaving tingly spots on his skin.

Arching his back towards the angel he let out a loud and happy hiss, eyes unfocused while he retreated his wings a little more to himself so it was easier on the other to hold him.

"Aziraphale-", he breathed out, his hands hopelessly trying to grab onto the wings again but slipping off and dropping onto Aziraphale's legs where they gripped tightly onto him, his whole body twitching.

Noticing the helplessness when Crowley did his best to grab back onto his wings, the angel mercifully helped him out by bringing them back closer to him. Who knew he could be so desperate for him after spending the longest time they had been knowing each other pining.

In a way it was cute. The usual bitchy demon, that acted as if he was the baddest of the bad, melted into the lightest touches he provided him with.

Taking in a deep breath of Crowley's scent he began to trail the kisses further up to his neck, all the while letting his hands glide over his chest, one staying rather up to also run his fingers over his throat, while the other dipped lower, scraping his nails over his thigh.

One hand left at the angel's thigh, Crowley quickly grabbed onto the others wings again once they were close, pushing past the feathers to rub the base, then run his fingers along the bones underneath before returning to play with the feathers.

Once he felt the hand on his leg he froze a little. It was one thing to wish to do it with him, it was a whole other thing if it would actually come to it.

Groaning in anticipation he pulled one of the wings in closer, carefully nibbling along the bone before he started making his way down, kissing the feathers and occasionally playing with one by twirling his tongue around it. It felt even better with Aziraphale's hand stroking his throat, a slight pressure at his adam's apple elevating the pleasure.

The way Crowley changed actions to toy with him instead of being completely lost in drowning in the heavenly scent of this wings, had been unexpected. Having not seen it coming his reply to the action was for him to run his hand from his thigh to his lower stomach, fingers dipping under his waistband and went to apply pressure to push him further down onto him.

He wasn't particularly doing much in terms of getting himself riled up over this, but if Crowley was going to keep up his ministration like that, Aziraphale would most definitely want him to feel what he did to him.

A confused noise escaped Crowley's throat and he wipped his head around, mouth hanging open while he gave the angel a bit of a puzzled look at him being pushed down. His pupils were widened for being slits and he tilted his head to the side a little, hands sliding away from the spots they rested on to cup Aziraphale's face and pull him into a kiss.

Though the wings alone were amazing to drown in, there was starting to be something else that caught his attention too with the angel slowly going further down.

After being pulled into the kiss the hand that had been used to lazily run his fingers over his throat, with the occasional pressing down, wandered up to grab his face. Even if the demon tried to go and be leading the kiss, Aziraphale wanted to have something that still indicated of who was really leading who in this.

Through half lidded eyes he observed the demon's every move, not missing a single thing. Too soon the kiss got too stale for his liking though, and he instead pulled away to hold his mouth open with the fingers that were gripping onto the sides of his face to shove his tongue in his mouth.

Crowley had wanted to complain at first about the loss of contact, but only let out a strangled noise when the angel pushed against him again. Though he was worried about his tongue and teeth, he hoped it wouldn't bother the angel too much as he twirled his tongue around the other's and teased him, trying to mock him into leading further.

He ran his hands down to the angel's chest where he gripped onto him, desperately trying to feel him through the clothes, which he wouldn't even try to get off. He knew he couldn't. Instead he tried to edge the angel on further by grinding his hips slightly against him and folding his wings together completely so there was no space left between them.

The desperation paired with the undeniable want to feel one another to more parts than rubbing up against clothes that provided a, for the moment, impenetrable barrier, gave Aziraphale an even stronger urge to possess.

The feeling didn't pop up all of the sudden, it had always been there. Back then it had been weak, a tiny spark that had turned into a forest fire ever since Crowley had told him about the incident at the brothel.

He was his, his alone. If anyone would dare to try to get between them, they could only pray to a higher authoritiy that a miracle could save them.

But for now he deemed Crowley grinding his hips down on him enough to satisfy, for now. It gave him more time to focus on tangling up his tongue with that snake's one anyway, occasionally grazing his teeth over his tongue just to feel the sharpness of them, knowing fully well what caused them to grow the way they were.

"Angel-" Crowley could barely speak, though not only due to his mouth being occupied with something else.

Staying like this the thought crossed his mind that what happened at the brothel could have even been fine, if it had been Aziraphale and not a stranger doing it to him. Though, right now, he way preferred the gentleness with which he was edged on, a hint of posessiveness accompanying it. His hands came to a halt at the shirt's buttons and he tugged at them weakly while he slowly ran out of breath.

At the weak call from his lover, Aziraphale pulled back from him and removed his hand from his head to let it drop on his thigh, his thumb rubbing over the fabric.

"Am I going too fast for you?", he smiled and allowed himself to watch him tugging at his clothes in an attempt to get him to take them off, all the while he dropped his head on his shoulder to tone it down just slightly as he mouthed lazily on his neck, nibbling and sucking on the soft flesh.

At the smug question the demon growled and strengthened the grip on the other for a moment before he let out a silent hiss at the angel leaving a hickey.

"More", he pressed out with his voice breaking, head thrown back and eyes unfocused staring to the ceiling. " _Pleassse_ , angel...I beg you."

"More what?", Aziraphale asked innocently and licked over the fresh mark once more before straightening his back to sit upright and look him dead in the eyes.

Crowley flinched as he felt the other's tongue on the sensitive spot and looked at him in his haze. The angel was mocking and teasing him on purpose, and now he didn't know how to voice his thoughts. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Turning around fully he sat back down on Aziraphale's lap and spread his wings just a little again once they weren't in the other's face anymore since they were chest to chest.

Flustered he bit his lip, which resulted in a little droplet of blood since he had forgotten about his pointy teeth. Softly touching the hickey he pressed his fingers down on it, groaning at the slight pain and giving the other a pouty look, brushing against his hand with his free one.

"I want you to touch me..." Quietly he added a 'more' behind the sentence as he arched his back a little to give the angel a better view.

"Touch you?", Aziraphale repeated and tilted his head to the side a tad bit.

"How do you want me to touch you?"

The angel's hands, that had still been resting on his lover's lower body, dropped to his sides, but not for long since he much rather let them run from his hands up his arms and to his chest, were he let them rest again for a second.

Pretending to think about if he was going to give in to the request or not he gently drummed his fingers on his body.

"If you want me to touch you. Would you want it more like this?"

In a swift movement his hands went to his back, sliding them under his way-too-tight pants to grope him.

"Or more like this?"

One hand slid to his front, fingers just barely grazing him.

The movement caught Crowley off guard and he perched up with a whine, unsure if he should buck his hips further into the one, or the other hand. "I-"

Unable to bear with the other's gaze he quickly pushed himself towards him, hiding his face back in his wings as best he could.

"Unfair-", he muttered into the feathers and twitched slightly in a hopeless try to edge him on and receive the pleasure he was teased with. He threw his hands around his neck and grabbed into the feathers and his back for halt.

"Both...", was the only thing he could breathe out as an answer.

He wanted and needed both of it, he couldn't decide on it. Especially not when his mind was mush and in a daze like now. It was just impossible.

"As you wish."

The angel pulled his hand to himself just to have them working on getting Crowley's pants off. The thought of showing the demon who was boss and to tease further lingered in his mind for some time longer, but eventually he agreed with himself that he had to be nice to him now.

With little to no difficulty, thanks to some magic, it didn't provide to be much of a challenge to undress the demon. When he felt like he had taken in enough details about how his mainly naked body looked like pressed up to Aziraphale's still clothed one, which gave him another confidence boost, he pressed his fingers to his lips to wordlessly make them wet for himself.

Obediently the demon opened his mouth and pressed his tongue up against the fingers, teasingly nudging them a few times before he closed his mouth and started sucking ever so slightly, teeth scraping against them and his tongue teasingly wrapping around them.

It felt good to finally get his pants off since they seemed to have grown tighter by the minute, though at the same it made him anxious and squirmy under the angel's gaze.

He wanted this bad, but there still was a little voice in his head, screaming insecurities into the mix of pleasure and lust and haziness, right from the darkest place of his mind. Though he did try his best to not make it apparent. Only his hands started trembling a little and he gripped tighter onto him to have stabilization.

Aziraphale could sense it, the shift in how Crowley was holding it together. It might not have been a big change, but in this moment any sorts of insecurities and doubts weren't welcome.

With his unoccupied hand Aziraphale carefully pried one of the demon's hands away from him to take it into his own. His gaze softened as he first leaned in to place a small kiss to the corner of his mouth, then to his cheek and stopped at his wrist, never having taken his eyes off of him.

"You are quite the sight. I'm so very lucky to be spoiled with having you all for my own."

He planted another kiss to his wrist before moving up a little to the inside of his hand.

"They all must be jealous of you."

Gently he pressed down on the demon's tongue, stroking it as it still sucked on him, all the while accompanying his words with more kisses.

"My handsome, gorgeous, stunning, perfect, sweet, breathtaking love of my life."

Crowley wanted to say 'No, it's not true', but out came only a few muffled words and a desperate whine as he pushed against the fingers in his mouth, shuddering under every single touch as the words sparked something deep inside him that soon turned into a burning flame, eating at his torn mind and softening his gaze into a lustful longing for the kind words and the gentle touches that left him feeling wanted and special and precious to no believes.

And he had never really felt special, not even in heaven where he had felt excluded from the other angels.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head for a second before he closed them, opening his mouth to give the angel a better look at the thin lines of drool that coated his fingers and ran down the corner of his mouth.

He felt his heart beating loudly in his chest and it felt like it had rose to his head as the thumping silenced everything for him to focus on only the soothing voice that lured him in. And the words had went straight to his dick, making him twitch uncomfortably at how the words alone seemed enough to tip him over the edge.

When Crowley opened his mouth to show off his work so far, the angel proudly smiled at him and slowly pulled his hand back.

"What a good boy you are for me, dear. So, so good."

Once he had retreated his hand, the angel let go of Crowley's hand as well, placing it on his back, pressing him forward until there really was no space between Aziraphale's chest and his. Only then did he let his hand slide down further to rest it on his waist.

When he was pulled in even closer until it felt like there couldn't even be air fitting inbetween them anymore, Crowley longingly licked over Azirphale's neck, his hands slipping down from the wings and back into the angel's hair while he showered him with his hot and inconsistent breaths.

"I wannnnt all of you, angel-"

He was whimpering quietly and forcing his words out through the blaze of lust that had put him in a rather feverish state.

"I'll be good for you, angel... _Pleasssse_ , i'll be good-"

The demon's voice broke off into whiny, selfish little ramblings he hushed against the other's skin and whispered into his ear. "I love you, I want you…"

"What an impatient little thing you are. For that alone I should make you wait some more."

The words didn't quite match the angel's actions. While he gave him a side glance to watch him drooling over him and clawing at his back, his other hand had joined the one on his waist. Sadly, Aziraphale got lulled in by the whiny declaration of love and used that as an excuse for himself to not keep him waiting too much longer.

Even before he noticed it himself his hands were grabbing at the demon's ass, not doing anything beyond holding him firmly. Nothing to complain about though, his body simply made up for what his mind was still trying to process.

"Spread your legs more. If you want it, then show it to me how much you need me."

A little clumsy Crowley pushed his legs apart and arched his back, turning his head to look down to where he was shifting around to make sure he got it right. He had been rock hard for more than just a while now, and it felt like only the slightest touches or whispers could make him lose it now. Just accidentally brushing against his angel's thigh seemed too mouch and it left his dick throbbing even worse than before, needy and desperate for attention.

He made sure that the demon was fully satisfied with the way he sat, and only then made a move again. Still, when Crowley had settled down he didn't start right away. He took his sweet time to appreciate the way he could feel his want for him, the need the demon gave off in waves to feel him inside and on him.

It was addicting.

Never had he felt anyone lusting over him like this. Mentally getting himself back to the task at hand, he moved his saliva coated fingers to his hole to coat it with the makeshift lubricant without going doing much else besides teasingly pushing at it.

It was absolutely unbearable to feel Aziraphale teasingly rubbing against him, sending little electric waves up Crowley's spine and making him shudder, trying to push himself further down onto the angel's fingers.

" _Assszzziraphale-_ "

He twisted his body a little painfully to be able to kind of watch the other's hand as he drew circles around his entrance.

"I can't take thissss, angel, _pleassse_!"

One of his own hands shakily found his way down his body and to his erect dick in a pitiful attempt to get his fair share of pleasure, which Azirphale held right in his reach but still so far away, and it was infuriating and made him feel so powerless and weak, and if he was honest with himself, it riled him up even further.

As Aziraphale saw the demon letting his hand wander down his body with a clear intention of touching himself, he removed his hand from his entrance to swat it away.

"Did I allow you to touch yourself? Because I don't think I have. Maybe it is still too early to allow you to get what you want."

The demon winced as all pleasure was ripped away from him.

"No-"

Quickly he grabbed back onto the angel and pushed his face into his chest.

"I'm ssssorry, angel. I'll be good, I promise i'll be good!"

His voice felt raspy and shaky and he let his tongue loll out, his breathing heavy and feeling surreal with his head spinning like that.

The angel couldn't help but laugh quietly at the reaction he received and rested his head on top of his.

"Of course you will. You don't have much of a choice, now do you?"

What a lovely mess his lover had become, and what an even lovelier mess he'd become so very soon. Without hesitation he moved his hand back to it's previous position and shoved both of the slickened fingers up inside him.

"Nngh!" Crowley bit down on his fingers to silence himself once he was entered, though it were only two fingers, nothing too impressive yet. But in the state he was in, two fingers alone made him overheat. The angel was warm and soft, and his words had just the right amount of edge in them to make him go crazy.

He wanted to cry and beg for more, plead for Aziraphale to tip him off again and again, but his words never left his throat, only muffled noises being uttered into the angel's shirt as his drool ran down his fingers and chin and onto the other while he squirmed around.

On normal circumstances Aziraphale would abandon everything he was doing to fix the tiniest specs of dirt on his clothes. Even now when he felt drool soaking them his hand twitched as he was contemplating to do the same, but he couldn't bring himself to.

One look down at the shivering mess told him that it would be way too cruel to stop and think about anything other than to keep him busy. Ignoring what his head screamed at him to do, he curled his fingers and gently, very gently, to not harm him on accident, scraped his nails against his insides as he pushed them in deeper to find his prostate.

When he felt him moving deeper and deeper, pushing against his insides, the demon perched up, shifting around a little to help guide the other. It already sent Crowley's mind flying when the angel only scraped his sensitive spot, and he pushed himself further down, letting go of his fingers to hold onto Aziraphale's shoulders.

The angel continued his ministration for some time and eventually added a third and fourth finger into him to be one-hundred percent sure that he wasn't going to be even in the slightest bit of pain later on. Besides, keeping up pumping his fingers into his lover until he himself deemed him opened up enough was a great opportunity to feel Crowley's hips shuddering when he touched him in the right places, and to feel him grinding down to get more pleasure out of it.

Only a little demonic miracle was keeping Crowley from not coming right that instant when Aziraphale hit his prostate with a little more force, gradually loosening him up. He didn't want to already lose to him, lose to the wonderful way he felt his fingers moving inside him. It wasn't quite making it easier for him though that he held back that way.

A tight knot built up in his stomach and his dick was throbbing and felt like something tight had been wrapped around it. His hips instinctively bucked away a little from the other's fingers due to the oversensitiveness, and he couldn't help but push his dick into Aziraphale's stomach in a hopeless attempt to make it easier on himself since he wasn't allowed to touch himself.

It had quite the opposite effect though and elicited a strangled groan from him when his dick was welcomed by the soft flesh and clothes of the other.

After approximately 10 minutes of continuously finger fucking the demon, Aziraphale pulled them out of him and went over to massage his thighs as he waited for him to calm down a little. Crowley had held back from getting off on Aziraphale dragging it out to get him ready, and the angel couldn't be prouder of the obedience of waiting for him to give him the 'ok'.

"Look at you taking it without giving in to your desires. I couldn't be prouder of you right now."

The angel pried the shivering mess away from himself and laid him down on the sheets to lean over him as he went to loosen up his bowtie.

"Would you like to take a break for a bit, or would you want me to continue right away?"

Crowley let out a sigh when he the pleasure left him since that gave him a quick moment to calm down. With his hands he searched for the pillow under his head to grip into it while his half lidded eyes tried to focus on the angel.

"Continue-", he pressed out while he watched him gradually loosen his clothes, effectively seducing him to a point where he needed to look away for a few seconds before he dared to look back.

Spreading his legs as best he could he bucked his hips up a little and shot him an aroused smile. His black wings were quite the contrast pressed into the white sheets, the soft feathers pressing up against Crowley's overheated body.

"Pleassssse fuck me...Assszzziraphale."

"Don't you worry, that's what I had in mind of doing anyways."

Easily the angel could have gotten his clothes off with a single snap of his fingers and could by now be ramming Crowley into the bed. Just as easily he could continue to drag it out, and that thought sounded more pleasant to him, so he sat back upright to remove the layers of clothes he wore one by one. What he didn't have the patience for anymore was to care where his clothes landed, so he carelessly threw them off of the bed to join the few clothing items Crowley had still been wearing.

To keep the demon at least a little busy as he took his time, he ran his hands through his feathers every now and then and rubbed some of them to feel the new softness. The action caused him to take a minute or two longer than needed, he couldn't care less though.

When his clothes were out of the way he let out a content sigh to not be trapped in them anymore, because even if he didn't let it show as much as Crowley did, Aziraphale had gotten just as hard from the demon's wriggling and squirming, and the overall smell that he gave off when being as aroused as he had made him by caressing his body.

It certainly felt good to have his feathers ruffled and played with, but that couldn't make the demon take his eyes off the angel, or his mind, how he stood there, slowly getting rid of his clothes one by one, fully well knowing what he did to the already desperate demon that way.

Since Aziraphale's clothes were in no way as tight as the demon's where he hadn't been noticing too much how he had felt about all this, too lost himself in his own pleasure than to be attentive to the other's. But now that he saw him, saw the other's erection pushing up against his stomach, he had to swallow hard and felt his mouth watering.

He wanted to taste him and feel him and toy with him, but most importantly, he wanted that damn angel inside of him already. And he could, and would beg for it as often and as long as he needed, as the angel wanted to hear it. He would do anything for him, and he knew that his lover was fully aware of that.

"Angel- _hurry-_ "

He let out the breath he had held and moved one of his hands down to slightly scissor open his entrance. The demon nearly sobbed now, his sole attention focusing on how absolutely perfect and beautiful Aziraphale looked.

"I beg you, _pleassse--_ "

In a matter of seconds Aziraphale took his position between the demon's spread legs and helped him keeping them spread by grabbing at his thighs. He hadn't needed to beg for him to get a move on and fuck him silly. Still, the way he presented himself to the angel with shamelessly giving him a good view of his body made his cock twitch in need of getting a move on.

Not wanting to deny either of them the pleasure they so dearly needed, he pulled Crowley closer by his thighs and shoved his dick up into him with little resistance due to having been opened up so thoroughly before.

It felt good, beyond good even, beyond any pleasures heaven would have to offer for him, and they hadn't even started yet. The last time he had allowed himself to enjoy the pleasure of having someone for himself like this had been years ago.

Ever since he had accepted his feelings for Crowley he had denied it for himself, so now getting to experience that pleasure again, and with the one he had craved for some time, was heavenly.

With a howl Crowley threw his head back once he was entered and clung to the bedsheets for dear life. This was nothing compared to the fingers from before, and it was nothing compared to anything or anyone he had had in his whole life, and he had had a lot.

Not that he was bragging about it, but over the course of time he had tried quite some things, even things he didn't want to speak of anymore. But this, this was a whole new level of pleasure, of intimacy.

His mind was burnt out and he honestly didn't know if his moans and the aroused howls were silent or actually did leave his throat. He could feel Aziraphale stirring up his insides with every thrust, filling him up to an extent that it felt like the angel would soon stirr his brain the same way, if any of it was left anyway.

He got lost in the way the demon felt around him and kept his eyes shut to solely focus every part of his being to bask in the ecstasy that got so generously offered to him. The result of him not paying attention to anything else was that his thoughts spilled out in the form of praises and ramblings.

"Never will anyone get you, you belong to me and that is it. If anyone will ever attempt to take my place in your life, I will personally drag them to purgatory with no chance of leaving."

He got broken off by a groan and shoved his face into the demon's neck, breathing heavily against it.

"You feel so bloody good. And your voice- ngh! No wonder heaven had to let you go. They couldn't decide if that voice should be declared sinfully tempting, or could bring salvation and wash people clean of their sins. Too bad they will never know now."

Those praises felt so weird and so good at the same time, Crowley could feel his slight concentration on keeping the miracle up loosening and he felt precum pearling up at the tip of his dick, needing all his might to hold himself back, especially with his mind being as scrambled as it was.

But those praises had such a sharp edge to it, a kind of possessiveness that Crowley only knew Aziraphale had about the books he hoarded here. He never could have thought that this dominance had stretched over to him.

"I belong to you", he cried out with a hiss accompanying while he was fucked into the covers, the angel's breath tingly on his neck. "Yoursss- I am only yoursssss!"

"Better keep that in mind, dear boy, I wouldn't want to have anyone get hurt."

Aziraphale opened his eyes when he was talked to and smirked, if only for a second, at him a little unholy. For him he went against heaven and hell, and for him he'd go against humanity too, if necessary.

Using the thoughts of anyone getting too bold with what was his for his advantage, he let that possessiveness fuel him to put more strength behind each thrust and leave bite marks on his demon's shoulder, sprinkling some magic into the mix to reassure himself that those marks were to stay for longer than they naturally would.

By now Crowley didn't know what was more prominent; the pain or the pleasure. But even if he'd know what was more prominent, he still wouldn't be able to discern what was the greatest source for it. Maybe it was just everything together that made his mind shatter into a million pieces and melt down until he saw stars when his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

"A-angel I am-"

His voice broke off into another howl and he threw his hands up and over his eyes, pulling at his hair and clawing.

"Ssssorry I amngh- ssssso sorry!"

He couldn't keep the miracle up anymore, couldn't concentrate on anything as his vision blurred and his mind went blank. The demon only felt the tight knot in his stomach finally untangling and the pressure on his dick loosening as he came all over himself, sobbing in shame.

Aziraphale ignored the fact that Crowley got tipped over the edge and got reduced down to sobbing and shivering mess. He hadn't been satisfied just yet. Though the pressure that increased around his dick felt nice, it had not been what he needed to get off as well yet, though it got him so much closer to it.

He pushed himself up so he could watch over the demon and stare him down, his hands leaving his thighs to wander upwards. Biting his lip, Aziraphale dug his nails into the bony hips to get a tight grip on him to pull him closer each time he slammed into him.

Even though he loved the excitement it brought him to be able to shift him around as he wanted, he felt his own orgasm approaching now, a little disappointed in himself to not being able to break him down more.

With no warning he pressed the demon against his body and filled him up with his cum, resting his forehead on his as he panted heavily.

The only reaction Crowley could give when he was filled up was quiet whimpering. He was gasping for air, his breaths getting stuck in his throat where he choked on them, feeling absolutely miserable and blissful at the same time.

His before perfectly in order wings were now messy again with being pressed over and over, and quite roughly at that, into the sheets, and he himself didn't look much better. He had bruises all around his neck and scratches on his thighs and cheeks, cum drying and feeling cold against his heated stomach while the cum inside him was only waiting to leak out once the angel would pull back.

He rambled on about being sorry with his cracking voice, a high pitched whisper muffled by the hands desperately clinging to his face. But really, the worst thing was not getting a reaction from his angel with all this. He didn't care if he would be humiliated and degraded, or soothed into nothingness by soft words, both seemed equally pleasing to him.

But no reaction at all than the silent use of his body made him freak out, so he shifted his hands just slightly so he could look at Aziraphale with a truly lost and apologetic expression.


	16. Good Morning?

This wasn't what he had wanted as a reaction from his lover. It wasn't the constant apologies, nor that he was leaving scratches all over his face, those could at least be miracled away, that he got most worried about though, but it was the almost completely hidden away look he got.

Loosening his grip on his hips as he pulled out of him, Aziraphale reached up to attempt on getting him to stop hiding away.

"There is no need for you to hide, my love. Yes, you failed to hold on until I told you to get off, but since you were so patient the whole time, I'll give you a pass, for now."

He left a trail of gentle kisses on the back of his hands and what he could reach of his face.

"You have been patient enough to be a little greedy, I understand that. Despite that, you still did your best, and I was quite pleased with it."

"But- I wasssn't good", Crowley sobbed out, his muscles slightly untensing now that Aziraphale showered him with gentleness again.

It stopped some of the alarm bells in his head that his angel was speaking again and praising him, this time without the sharp edge of the sexual annuendo.

"I messsssed it up-"

The demon pressed his palms against his eyes that you'd worry his eyeballs would pop out at the back of his skull, trembling under the gentle touches and pressing his legs together so he wouldn't take up as much space anymore. He had finally gotten what he had wanted all those damn years, and now he felt so insecure, so vulnerable.

It had never ended well for him to mess up. Several times it had nearly killed him, not only nearly discorporated him, but really, nearly made him lose his life. And he was so scared, now that his mind would clear again slightly. Still drowsy on the aftereffects of his ecstasy, but clear enough that his worries could come crashing back to him in a cold, sharp wave.

And the wave hit him hard and swayed him into a current of anxiety. Nothing very pleasant considering he was laying there defenseless and naked; nothing and nowhere to hide.

With a soft sigh the angel sat up and pulled him onto his lap. The demon must have been more insecure and terrified to fail than he would have let it show for the time they knew each other. Maybe exactly that had a factor in his behavior too. Maybe the reason he had never had anyone to share his thoughts with kept him to hold it all in to act the part.

Aziraphale spread out his wings to a full extent before folding them around the two to create a small space for them, shielding the demon from all the harm that could wait for him outside.

Crowley was shivering as if he was cold, his wings pressed close to his body, the other's wings right atop them. It was like a shell, or blanket, whatever synonym you wished to use. But together with the angel's warmth it gave him a secure feeling; like they were out of this world now in their own little place as their feathers mixed together and the angel spoke to him.

"Why do you feel like you have messed up so bad, even after I tell you that it was fine? There is no one here to judge your actions besides me, and I have nothing to judge about you. You are perfect and so willing to do everything that makes me happy, and you know what you did? You made me really, really happy today. The only thing that could make this moment perfect would be, if you wouldn't be so hard on yourself. I might love all of you, but the little part that angels and demons alike have helped you developing, has to go, if only for the time we spend together."

The demon didn't yet dare to push himself back into Aziraphale, only had his head hanging low, his messy hair all in his face. He wanted to say that he shouldn't hug him like this since he was dirty and he didn't want Aziraphale to get dirty too, but he decided against it since his angel was trying so hard to get through to him and soothe him.

"It'sss- It's sssstupid. I wanted you sssso bad all the while, and I wanted you to feel good, but I couldn't hold it and you had to sssstop for me and finish quickly and look out for me I-"

He shook his head frantically before he dared to look up at him through the thick strands of curly, fiery red hair.

"You could have done sssso much more if it hadn't been for me-", he ended the words bubbling out from within him with a deep swallow and glossy eyes.

"Crowley, dear."

Aziraphale brushed the strands of hair out of Crowley's face and tucked them behind his ear to give him a full view on him as he spoke.

"I did feel good, I still am. I wouldn't trade what we have just experienced for anything else. Sure, we could have dragged it out longer, but it's fine. Besides, it's not like we have to let it be a one time thing. Whenever you'd be up for more, I'd happily repeat it."

He ran the back of his finger over his cheek before dropping his hand on his shoulder, tracing the marks he had left.

"I wouldn‘t have exactly needed to, well, have sex with you for my own pleasure. Just seeing you in pleasure is enough for me to get off on. And while I do find enjoyment in the ways humans get intimate together, I get a greater thrill seeing what I can do to you to make you feel good."

Pressing his teeth together so he could stop the sobs from coming out, which only half worked, the demon reached out to grip onto the other, slipping one time before he kind of secured a grip on him. His eyes were big and round and looked like he was about to break into tears, the sharp yellow colour of them glistening in the dark. But he didn't look up at him for long before he slowly let himself fall onto the other, exhaling deeply as if to overcome something.

"Angel."

Stopping for a moment find the right words he took a deep breath to take in Aziraphale's unique scent, soothing himself with the lure it placed on him.

"Hug me and don't let me go tonight. I beg you. Even if I won't believe them I-"

Breaking off he curled up on himself a little, his words already again reduced to a mere whisper.

"Pleasssse tell me you love me, tell me that i'm not all that bad. Even if I won't believe it-"

Even for the angel that was surprising to hear. He had thought Crowley hated it whenever he made a remark about the smallest good deeds he had done. Well, the situation in which the demon was in didn't exactly scream that it was what he needed.

"Are you sure you want that? I won't do anything that would worsen the state you are in."

Letting Crowley press into him he made a small hand motion to clean him up and put him into comfortable clothes to take some of the feeling of vulnerability off of him.

"I can promise doing anything for you, as long as you are certain it won't backfire on you."

Letting out a content sigh once he felt the soft fabric of the clothes on him Crowley nodded slowly and shifted his hands around to throw them around the other's stomach, hugging him ever so weakly.

"I- I don't know how i'll feel about it but...I want to feel loved, angel- I don't want nightmaresss or feeling like a failure, but I won't believe it if I tell mysssself. I need you to tell me, I want you to tell me that I am yoursss, that you adore me- Even if you lie, I need to hear it from you..."

"I'm an angel, angels don't lie. Or, well, we shouldn't."

Aziraphale stopped his train of thoughts there to not get lost in rambling to himself.

In retrospect, it wasn't true. He had seen the others lying countless of times. He had done it himself too on multiple occasions, but that wasn't important. What was important now was to fulfill Crowley's simple request.

He pulled the demon on top of himself and got himself in a comfortable laying position that wouldn't result in him regretting it in the morning that he kept his wings out like that. Though, if it helped the demon, he could live with a little cramp.

Running his hand through his hair Aziraphale played with it a little as he watched over him.

"You are no failure. There never has been a time in which I could have seen you as such. Everyone that has ever made you feel like one has had their times too in which they failed over and over and couldn't recover from it. No one is a true failure; you have only told yourself that enough times that you have started believing it. If only you could see yourself as I see you."

The moment that Aziraphale layed down the demon curled up on top of the angel, his head resting on his chest where he listened to his heartbeat, matching his breathing pattern to his.

"I've always been told i'm a failure", he mumbled, eyes closed and concentrating to calm his heartbeat to sleep.

He liked sleeping, he really did. Had even kind of grown used to a regular sleep pattern which he didn't really like to break out of. He didn't need to sleep. He just liked it. Though he would often be woken up by nightmares, but that was beside the point.

"I've never been praised. Not for what I did. They only shoved sssome things onto me, like the spanish inquisition."

"That has to be changed. You have done so many wonderful things in your life that have gotten no recognition then, and that is unacceptable. Alone the things you have brought humanity are all praiseworthy and, I might not be all up to date with them, but I am pretty sure that you could walk up to a random person and ask them what they think of a thing you have made, and I am sure they'd say they like it. Well, besides the M25. That was truly something hell should have been proud of."

The angel watched him relaxing, a good indication that he wasn't in a state of mind anymore he had to worry about. If the demon was thinking about sleep that was welcome too. He himself did not care too much about it and rather spent the time humans used to sleep staying up to read through each and every book he owned, but when he had tried it on some occasions, it had always helped him to give his mind a short break, and that was what Crowley needed now anyways.

Aziraphale would simply keep laying there with him and keep him warm and protected until he'd wake up again.

With his last remark the angel could even tease out a short laugh from Crowley.

"I donn need 'nyones recognition. Only need you."

Too sleepy to move his mouth properly he just muttered his response. "Love you, anngel."

Shifting his head around a little he gave him a lazy kiss on his bare chest and dozed off at the praises and the fingers that treasured his hair and the alluring scent and voice of his angel, the warm feathers hugging him like a blanket.

"I love you too, my dear, don't you ever forget it."

After that he kept quiet. Why would he want to disturb his lover while he slept after all? It was much nicer to be able to see how calm he was, and it was an even better opportunity to appreciate the feeling of his body on his without there having to happen much else as a result.

\---

It wasn't until several hours later that the demon woke up. It was late morning, maybe early afternoon, he didn't know exactly.

Stretching a little he needed a moment to adjust his eyes to the morning sun and growled a little annoyed. His ass hurt and the bruises at his neck were itching a little. A little confused he yawned and shifted around just slightly so he could look upwards, pressings his wings closer to himself , his pupils back to slits, eyes squinted to be able to see properly.

As Crowley began to stir Aziraphale moved his wings a little to let more light come through to him and let his hands rest on his back. Some time during the night he had performed a small miracle to get himself dressed up as well and get some tea and a book he couldn't really focus on due to the demon having shifted around a little bit, which had been quite distracting.

"Good morning, dear. I hope you are feeling well after your nap", he said with a bright smile as their eyes met.

"Mhm, quite."

Rubbing his eyes a little drowsy Crowley finally realized that he was still lying on his angel, so he quickly, and carefully, mind that, shifted around and rolled off of him, a light blush creeping up his face.

Stretching properly he folded his wings back together and hid them, making a kind of weird purring noise before he looked at the book. Some kind of holy bible, or unholy bible now that he got a look at what the pages showed.

"You really been reading all damn night?"

"Not all night. Your request had also been to hug you, and especially as the night progressed you became quite distracting anyways, so I decided to do something far more interesting than reading", Aziraphale said truthfully and folded his wings back as well before Crowley had rolled to his side to make him more room.

Now that there wasn't anything pinning him to the bed anymore he could sit up and stretch with a relieved sigh. Crowley was in no way heavy, but after being unable to move out of the same position for a few hours, even that had been a bit much.

"You could have just put me somewhere else if I was bothering you. Not like I would have noticed. I'm a heavy sleeper."

"That would have gone against the promise I made to you."

Crowley didn't even have the time to complain or thank the angel for keeping his promise, well, he wouldn't have complained, but probably told the angel that it was foolish and he really wouldn't have needed to do it, since he had now realized what the angel had actually said.

"Do something far more interesting than reading?"

The demon tilted his head to the side and bit his lip. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Or maybe he didn't want to know when he thought about it. His thoughts paired with that book, that could have also been called 'Adam and Steve' instead of 'Holy Bible', drove him further towards a certain state again.

Clearing his throat he shifted to lay on his side, head on on his hand, the other one scratching his stomach subconsciously.

Aziraphale went back to getting himself comfortable by sitting with his back pressed against the headboard, hands on his thighs before he responded. "Yes, that exists for me. Believe it or not, but the tiniest noises you make, or you moving just a little bit, has proven to be an effective way to get my attention."

Biting his lip Crowley could feel himself flushing. Would be a nice thought to think that Aziraphale had done things with him while he was asleep. He wouldn't even be mad. Maybe just a tiny bit since he hadn't really been there to enjoy it.

He put on a mocking smirk as a kind of facade to hide his, already in the morning, dirty thoughts behind, as well as his embarrassment.

"Well, if that is the case, shouldn't I be able to get your attention even better when i'm awake?"

Pushing himself up a little he crawled closer towards his angel and put his hands on his legs, head resting on his thigh, giving him a playful expression.

"You should and you are."

Not thinking much about what kind of thoughts must be going through the demon's head right about now Aziraphale brushed the action off as him craving affection. That affection he'd gladly gave him in the form of running his hand over his body as if he was petting him more than caressing his side, resting his head on his hand as he did it.

"Is there anything you want to gain from getting me to block out everyone else to give you all of my attention, or is it solely because you need a reason to be close to me?", he asked as he followed his hand movements with his eyes until he got bored of it and instead gave him a look that could indicate that he knew why he so suddenly craved to be close to him again, but in reality, he didn't have a clue to what could have been the trigger for it.

It felt like the angel could look right through him, had him pinned down with the words and gazed right into his mind, reading from him like from an open book. Swallowing hard the demon could feel his confidence waver a little and he looked a little nervous.

"Selfish reasons, mostly", he said and let his tongue loll out, licking his teeth while he glanced at the hand so close to him, cupping his own.

He had only wanted to tease the angel a little, mock him until he would send him away. But how Aziraphale looked at him, and reacted, there was now really something bubbling up inside him and instead of him edging his angel on, he was the one who actually got affected by this.

Humming satisfied at the reaction he pulled from him, Aziraphale removed his hand from his body and sat up so his other hand didn't need to support his head any longer. There wasn't much that could make things clearer than the hungry look and the way his tongue slithered out of his mouth.

If THAT'S what he was after, it would be boring to let him have too much of what he apparently wanted right from the start. A little body contact and a sweet look weren't going to cut it in that case.

"We all can be a little selfish from time to time. Be as selfish as you want. I doubt it could be anything I'd say 'no' to", he declared with the same tone in his voice he used to talk in when he was almost entirely sure he was having the right idea about what was going down.

In the past he might have been too dense to notice it, or had brushed such behavior off as one of Crowley's ticks, but times had changed and now things made more and more sense the longer he thought about them.

'Be as selfish as you want'. The words circled in Crowley's mind, seemingly mocking him with the superior tone that the angel used to speak with him. It sounded almost amused, if he didn't know better of it.

Gritting his teeth the demon glanced up at Aziraphale, his eyes slowly moving further down his body until they got stuck at his crotch. It sounded almost too heavenly, doing what he wanted. There had to be a catch to it. He just didn't yet know what. But he was rather inclined to find out if the angel already invited him to.

Pushing himself up he moved his hands up the other's body until they were stuck on his collar and tugged at it, quickly pushing his lips onto his, longingly licking over his lower lip in a request to open his mouth.

Crowley didn't bother being subtle about it, did he? He was too easy to read at some points, but to a certain degree it made the angel look even dumber than he actually was to not having picked up on this earlier. Either way, he was playing nice for now to let him have his fun with the least amount of input to what was happening from his part.

The kiss he did participate in to certain degrees like parting his lips and making sure Crowley still knew that, despite what he was trying to do, Aziraphale was on top of it all, and only if he decided that the demon deserved it to lead, he'd be allowed to.

It had proved itself, in multiple forms, over the years, that it was easier to accomplish with the right amount of frustration than anyone might think.

Aziraphale's tongue felt lazy against his, but the demon preferred not to be bothered by it. To him it made it feel more like a challenge that way.

He wanted, no, needed a reaction from his angel, and he knew that without trying, he wouldn't get one. That was the aura that the angel held.

Moving his hands from his collar the demon slowly slid them further down. He was rather subtle at foreplay, mind you, since in most of his OneNight stands, he didn't call them relationships because they weren't, he had been the one on top, which had given him the responsibility to make sure, that the other was thoroughly prepared.

But now, when he was playing the bottom part for once, and especially since it was with the one he had been pining for for centuries, he felt overwhelmed and rather unsure about what to do, only guide his lust which made him a little clumsy and quick on action.

Groaning he slid his hands away and crawled in between the angel's legs, fingers twitching as he hooked them under the waistband. The demon was certainly in the mood for this, but the angel didn't really seem like it yet. And that did backlash on him.

His eyes were fixed on his crotch and he could feel his mouth watering as he pushed himself closer, nuzzling the inside of Aziraphale's thigh before he slowly trailed upwards, mouth open. When he was only inches away from what he wanted he shot a questioning look upwards.

To Crowley it possibly gave him the impression that Aziraphale only went with it to please the other, but the reality was far from that. Since he‘d been allowed to live out what it means like to have someone you love submit themselves to you, not just for the heat of the moment, he took that place gladly.

They might have only done it once on the day prior, but that had been enough to make him have the need to give his lover the security and the right amount of reassurance he needed to not be discouraged by actions that consisted out of being rough or seeming disinterest for as long as the little game lasted.

That being said, it wasn't that Aziraphale all of a sudden had gotten the need to be possessive to a point that he'd metaphorically go over dead bodies in order to eliminate the ones that had projected all the hate on what was precious to him, no. There always had been something since he had come to know the demon.

Back than it had been more of a natural instinct like when he, for example, had shielded his friend from the rain that god had poured down onto earth when he had done his first wrongdoing.

Soon after that, when he had discovered just how easy it was to get what he wanted out of Crowley, it had strengthened that particular part within himself further and further until they had gotten to the point they were at now; with Aziraphale having the upper hand while the demon was laying between his legs not too far away from his dick and giving him a look that asked for his confirmation that he could go on.


	17. Morning Fun

That much for allowing him to be as selfish as he wanted.

At the indescribable look he got from his lover Crowley flinched and immediately looked back down. He wanted the ministration from the other, and he was still insecure from the other day, but if he took it like that, if the other wouldn't play along, the demon could at least try to redeem himself.

Without giving himself any further time to think he pushed his face into his crotch, his hands on the waistband slowly slithering down until he found what he was looking for. With long and delicate fingers he gently brushed against the other's dick, lazily kissing him through the fabric.

The little touches already, the slight brushing past the sensitive skin of the angel's cock sent little drops of fire down Crowley's body that pooled in his abdomen into a warm mess, feeling more so pleasurable for him than it was for his angel yet.

Slowly he moved up until he was lazily licking the skin along the waistband, taking his time before he tugged, and carefully pulled down the fabric, heat rushing to his face once he actually saw his prized possession, heat all at once bubbling at his own crotch too.

With a silent whine he pushed his crotch futher into the sheets and slid his fingers down to get a good grip on his lover's dick, teasingly brushing along the sides while he pushed himself up just a little to drag his tongue over the top, accompanied with silent whimpers at the explosion of smells and tastes that made him go blind for just a second.

Perhaps the pleasant kisses and touches purpose had been to get the angel into it, an effort of bringing him to the same level of arousal Crowley currently displayed for him.

By high chances the demon had really laid this all out to be for his own satisfaction, that he could get off on bringing pleasure to anyone without receiving. And Aziraphale couldn't decide himself if the thought of Crowley's action being solely for his own needs turned him on more, or the fact that it felt like this was a strange way of worship.

Either way, the sight he got could make anyone weak and wish to never have that image removed from their head. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to not get carried away by the thoughts that came to him and to stay focused on what happened outside of his mind.

What pushed it further to get hot and bothered by this were the small noises that found their way out of the demon's throat as he tasted him. That beautiful voice he came to love making such sinful noises got him to finally show a reaction as his dick twitched in response and a suppressed groan was ripped from his throat.

Finally he got a reaction. A satisfied smirk crept up Crowley's face and he moved down, goaded by the the little noise. He wanted more, he wanted to hear his angel, hear him being pleased through his hand.

With a soft moan he dragged his tongue upwards before he returned to his dick, carefully guiding him to his mouth, licking the base before he slowly dragged his tongue over the underside and up to the tip. There he stopped for a moment, savouring the strong, but somehow sweet taste and smell, trembling slightly at the excitement, his hips bucking forward instincitvely and making him groan.

His strongest point, he had always been told, had been his mouth, and he was eager to show his angel that it indeed was. Without further ado he made sure to slowly and lazily take his dick in, brushing against him ever so slightly with his lips while he welcomed him, his tongue teasingly pushing against him to apply a bit of pressure while he dragged it out.

It helped to have let one little groan slip past his lips to spurt the demon on. Aziraphale could feel, and see it in the multiple ways presented to him. When he felt that wet tongue taking it‘s time to trail up his cock to taste him, before then having Crowley taking even longer to finally take all of him in his mouth, he couldn't sit there any longer doing nothing.

The angel was patient, but even a man of his patience had his moments in which he wanted to speed things up.

Aziraphale's hand tangled itself up in the fiery red curls and forced the demon all the way down, holding him there before pulling him off completely just to press him back to his crotch. There wasn't a need to be worried about Crowley's well-being, if he had a problem with it he could voice it now, but one look at the demon and he knew he wouldn‘t.

Crowley's hand slipped off the angel's body and clawed into the sheets out of reflex when he was forced to widen his throat and then immediately pulled off again, a strangled noise accompanying as he choked. But the warning was clear to him: he had teased the angel a tad too much.

Once his mouth was free he coughed dryly, purring satisfied as he pushed up against the hand that had a tight grip on him.

Heeding the warning he had received, he quickly slid his hands back to guide the angel's dick back into his mouth before letting them slip to grip into the sheets while he started bobbing his head. First a little slow, then quicker, then slowed again as he pushed himself further down onto him, widening his throat impossibly wide to allow the angel to reach even deeper, tongue wrapping tightly around his dick with as much self control as he had in that position, before he retreated a little just to push him in even deeper, though that had seemed rather impossible.

But with just a bit of whimpering, that resulted in his throat tensing around Aziraphale just slightly, he managed it somehow, hands by now gripping tightly onto the angel's hips for stabilization while he looked up at him with those widened snake-eyes, his expression self-indulgent and full of lust while drool dripped down the corner of his mouth and down his chin.

Aziraphale loosened his grip on Crowley's hair a tad bit, but let his hand rest there in case he wanted another taste of how the demon's throat oh so deliciously spasmed around his dick at the sudden change of things. The result that little stunt had brought appeared to have the right effect, and had brought the small warning across quite well, so that Aziraphale could indulge in the way Crowley used his mouth more efficiently now.

Noticing the stain left on the sheets between his legs the angel reached out with the hand that had nothing to do yet and wiped off the excess drool before it would create more of a mess.

"What a messy boy you are. Enjoying yourself that much to not care about standards anymore?", he asked as he let his thumb follow down the thin trail of spit that ran down his neck, pressing it firmly against his skin.

As an answer Crowley let out a low groan which vibrated in his throat, fingers twitchy while a wave of heat rolled over him at the words. He could feel himself leaking pre-cum from just that, just that little sharp tone and the small bit of pressure on his throat which he wished to aggravate so badly while he tensed his throat around the angel, feeling him twitch a little.

In a pityful attempt to voice what he wanted he glanced down towards Aziraphale's fingers on him and whined, squirming a little before he looked back up at the angel, eyes half lidded and by now glossy due to the extreme strain he was in.

Aziraphale raised a brow at the pitiful look that got casted up at him after he squirmed around and glanced down. Not being able to make much of it he pulled his hand away and plucked him off of his dick, making him rest his head on his thigh to let him catch his breath a little to voice what he wanted.

"What are you trying to tell me? You wriggling around and giving me those looks could mean a lot of things."

"Ah-!"

Frustration festered in the demon as he was all at once pulled away, left panting for air and forced to calm down, though he neither needed nor wanted to. A little pouty he cleared his throat and wiped at his chin, the glory he had bathed in while doing his work slowly vanishing and leaving him just desperate and horny.

Quickly he grabbed onto one of Aziraphale's hands and guided it back to his throat where he forced him to close his grip around him.

"Choke me, angel. Just a bit of pressure", he brought out with his voice raspy, his throat feeling weirdly empty and dry and hurting just a little when he was speaking.

The demon was already squirming around again to get back to his work, another line of spit finding it's way down his chin at alone the thought of pushing himself back on him.

"Choke you? Oh that sounds like such a bad thing though..."

The angel made a face that wasn't quite matching the statement. Instead of looking concerned or unwilling to fulfill such a request he smiled down at him. With that same sweet smile he forced him back all the way down on his cock and held his nose closed with the other, keeping his neck strained in the weird position he put him in.

Slowly at first he pulled him off of him almost all the way, just enough so he could get some air back into his lungs, before he harshly forced him back down, repeating the movement with slight increasing speed each time.

Crowley had wanted this. Maybe not exactly this, but this was what he was getting, It would feel more like he could die from it like that anyway, and it was quite thrilling to have the power to decide over someone's life like that, though he could never ever go that far as to actually harm the demon.

While Crowley had at first been disappointed to hear the words he was all the more taken off guard when the angel not only handled him with more force, but also worsened his request. Pain and fear for his breath exploded in his head in a white flash and blinded him for a few moments while he let out choked and surprised groans.

His hands dug deeply into Aziraphale's thighs at the ultimate feeling of despair, clawing to have anything to hold on to while he was losing his mind like that. Tears bubbled up and streamed down his reddened cheeks while his pupils reverted to slits, eyes fearing to roll back into his head while his body went numb and tensed, his throat desperately narrowing to get rid of the dick that was shoved down again and again, without any mercy to it.

Frantically he tried to be of any use in this, but his body wouldn't move accordingly, only went and felt like it burned up in fire and flames, twitching uncontrollably while the pain mixed more and more to pleasure and pooled in both his mind and crotch and made him feel like he was in heaven.

At first the angel's confidence wavered a little bit, just enough to let it shine through as he saw the tears streaming down his lover's face, but that confidence came crashing back to him mere moments later when he saw his expression changing from scared to blissful.

Sighing in relief and pleasure Aziraphale was by now steadily fucking his throat, shoving his cock harder into him each time he forced him down. Alone the way Crowley's throat tightened around him at the intrusion and the way it spasmed helped greatly to get him closer to his release.

If he would now not have to focus on making sure he wouldn't suffocate, and he'd have time to take in how his face looked through all this, he could have probably come right there on the spot and choke him while he'd try to swallow to get back his ability to breathe.

A shudder went down his spine at the thought and his breathing became more sped up than it had been.

"You make me feel so good, dear. Makes me want to fill you right up-"

At the praises Crowley moaned and loosened his grip on his lover's thighs where he had left deep, red scratches, hands immediately sliípping from him which resulted in Crowley losing his balance for just a second, making him let out a muffled cry as he gagged, quickly gripping into the sheets on which he had left dark, wet spots from his saliva, tearing at them.

It felt heavenly to have the pain tear at him inside and outside, the soft voice through the torture praising and seducing him. His mind melted into white while the arousal lashed through him, making him shiver as he was tipped over the edge, coming into his pants that stuck to him through sweat already.

But he didn't have time to feel exhausted or done, only focused on staying awake through this, cheeks burning up and head spinning and growing fuzzy with the lack of air. And the angel still fucked him into a state of overstimulation which made him want to scream and beg for more as he pressed his eyes shut, muffled groans growing louder and more strangled by the minute.

Tightening his grip on him it took the angel a few sharp thrusts before bending over him just slightly and coming doing his throat, screwing his eyes shut to bask in the afterglow. He took his moment to just stay the way he was, with the demon pushed into his crotch, denying him to breathe until he got twitchy and only then opened his eyes again and pulled him off of him.

That hadn't been it just yet. Still holding onto him he tilted his head from side to side as he observed him until he nodded to himself.

"Swallow it and I'll let you breathe again. Would be quite the problem if we'd have to call up Adam again and explain how you lost your body because you choked on sucking me off. Although... I don't think you'd mind it that much. But hurry before something like that really happens, yes?"

The angel didn't even need to tell him, he couldn't hear it clearly anyway since his hearing and vision gave up under the lack of air. Most of the cum had already been poured down his throat, resulting in him tensing up and cramping at the strange feeling.

Crowley had wanted to savour the taste and play with it on his tongue, but when Aziraphale's strong taste had filled him up, he was so far gone and out of breath that he almost immediately swallowed once his dick left him.

One hand shot up to tug at the one Aziraphale was denying him air with while it slipped again and again since he felt too weak to get a grip on anything. And even though he felt like he'd just about pass out and die, he felt his dick twitch in reaction to it.

The demon let his mouth hang open, showing that he had swallowed it all while spit pooled again in his mouth at the sharp arousal that hit him, spilling from his lips and dripping down while he let his tongue out and gagged at the sudden flow of air he regained.

Immediately, after he was shown that his order had been fulfilled, Aziraphale removed his hands from him, watching him cough and greedily suck in the air he had been denied. Now, under closer inspection, the angel could see the outcomes to the rough handling.

The sheets, as well as the demon's face, that were covered by all kinds of fluids, the unfocused eyes that tried to focus on him but kept slipping out of focus, the way he wanted to hold onto him but couldn't since he was too far gone, and the least expected thing; the smell of sex coming from his lover.

Aziraphale couldn't help but to let out a small laugh and lean in to kiss the corner of his demon's mouth.

"My dear boy, was giving me pleasure really getting you to come as well? Had that much fun?"

Every little breath Crowley took in felt sharp and hurt, and he needed a while before he could even try to respond. He felt fuzzy and hot and his ears were ringing. When he tried to say something the words got stuck in his throat and he had a coughing fit, one hand closing around his throat, frantically pressing against it as if he could breathe better that way.

The demon gave up on voicing it then and only nodded a little helpless, tongue lolling out and he gagged again, staggering a little as he pushed himself against the angel, shaky and feverish.

Even if a verbal response would have been better, Aziraphale couldn't be mad about it since in return he got that panting, shivering mess pushing up to him instead.

Tucking himself away before wrapping his arm lightly around Crowley's waist he buried his face in his hair, breathing in the other‘s scent.

"She really has made you just for me, she must have", he murmured into his hair and rubbed small circles into his waist.

"Even if there had been others to see you like this, in the end you are still here with me, always coming back because you know if you'd leave, you'd miss something in your life as well. Everyone should see you as an example for loyalty, my dear. You are what others can only attempt to be."

Crowley groaned and moved into the touches, slowly calming his breathing when his throat got used to it again. His mouth burnt and felt dry and his vision still darkened and flashed white a little while he murmured something with his voice breaking off, eyes pressed shut until he could see again.

He could feel his dick pressing against his shorts that stuck to him in a wet mess, feeling cold on his heated skin, but he just kept pressing his crotch into the mattress so his angel wouldn't see while he enjoyed the hot breaths tingling against his head, the rumbling of his throat.

Aziraphale continuously mumbled things to his lover while he waited for him to be functioning enough that he could be sure that when the demon wanted to get up, he wouldn't just collapse down again, or, at the very least, not run into everything in the room.

While he did that he pulled the other up a bit so he didn't have to put too much effort into dropping his head on his shoulder to instead continue his ramblings there and shower him in affectionate little pecks all over the exposed skin, not suspecting, nor paying much mind to the other‘s arousal.

The demon didn't really want for this moment to end. If he had wanted to, he could have dozed off again right then and there. The bit of sweet talk could very well be a lullaby for him, and his eyes fluttered shut a few times, but his body wouldn't have that.

The calmer he was, the more the pain came snapping back to him, and he seriously needed something to drink. Maybe not alcohol; probably rather a glass of cold water to regain his composure. And a few ice cubes. That'd be nice.

Cursing he hissed quietly at the fluttery feeling building up at the soft kisses and shifted around a little so he could interrupt his angel with a kiss to his cheek, slowly slipping away from him, despite the frustration.

Shaking his head to get rid of the last bit of dizziness he ruffled through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck to get rid of the stiff feeling.

"Need s'mething to drink", he muttered while he straightened up a litte, as best he could with his ass still shooting a sharp pain up his spine.

The disappointment of having the other moving away made the angel let out a quiet sound to voice it, but just as fast as the feeling came it left again, and he instead gazed at him happily. There wasn't even a second of hesitation before he picked up a glass of ice cold water from the small table next to the bed that certainly hadn't been there before, and handed it over.

Lucky for them neither heaven nor hell still watched them. There would have been a whole lot of explaining they would have needed to do otherwise with the amount of small miracles they made.

"Maybe you should take it slow today and lay down for a while to do nothing. No need for you to hurt yourself unnecessarily."

Gladly Crowley accepted the glass and pushed it to his lips, grimacing as the water was maybe even a bit too cold. But it helped moisturize his throat. As inconspicious as he could he let the glass sink down when it was only about half full anymore, and held it close to his crotch. He hoped that would be enough.

It was a bit embarrassing still, to say the least, that he had gotten hard again with only a bit of praise and the feeling of utter helplessnes and dependance on the other, though he didn't deny his masochistic streak anymore. He just wondered when it had started.

"Think so?"

"I highly believe so. No need to overdo it."

The angel reached for the cup of tea that still stood on the bedside table, and was now miraculously cleaned and refilled, and took a sip from the hot beverage. For the first time that day he pried his eyes away from the demon to look out the window after taking a quick glance at the clock.

"It's already past lunch. We spent the last few hours doing nothing but laying around here and making love. You'd assume it would be beneath us to act like that; ignoring our responsibilities to be together."

"Past lunch?", Crowley echoed a little unbelieving and shook his head.

Maybe they had overdone it, though not that he'd mind. He had pined for bloody 6000 years, he'd not mind to keep going, even if he would be bloody discorporated for it.

"Anyway, what responsibilities? We don't HAVE to do any good or bad miracles or tempt anyone, no matter to good or bad. That's over for us, angel. And don't you call your bookshop your responsibility here. I know you're not trying to sell even one of those."

"You brought a kid here, and not just any kid, mind you. If you'd prefer it I could call them YOUR responsibility and watch you struggling through the day to try and keep them under control."

The angel glanced back at Crowley before turning back to the window.

"Also, I think your plants would LOVE to meet the little polluting kid. If you try and get sassy about my bookshop, I believe you wouldn't want to stay here for much longer, would you?"

"Oh please no-"

Crowley whimpered and bit his lip.

" _Anything_ but that. My plants are absolutely perfect. I made sure of that. If that brat would even look at them- all that work would go to waste-"

Swallowing hard he cleared the glass before resting it back in his lap, keeping it cold with a little, demonic miracle.

"I get it, okay? We've got responsibility as..."

He needed a moment before he could bring it over himself to say it: "Parents now."

That felt weird.

"I guess at least. Wouldn't mind giving them to someone else anyway."

Once again Aziraphale turned around, this time staying that way to keep an eye on the demon as they talked. It would be rude of him otherwise.

"You could try and get them to leave you alone, but do you really think that a demon of a position as high as them would accept it to be given away? They'd, quite literally, make everyones life a living hell until they get would what they want and ,well, it seems they want to be with you. Better not to go against their will."

He took his hand, expression softening.

"You had fun with Warlock too, give it a shot. This time there is nothing that could be done wrong. No child can be mixed up, no end of the world, just a confused child that we have to take care of."

"Hm."

The demon looked to the side and seemed to consider something for a moment before he reached over to put the glass on the bedside table and flopped down on his stomach next to Aziraphale. "Whatever you say."

He shifted around a little to grab for one of the gigantic and soft pillows to pull it underneath his head.

"I'm going back to sleep. Find a school to enroll them in or something. I promised them that."

Without anything else he pushed his face into the pillow and muttered something, snapping once to clean his trousers before he sprawled and used up as much space as he possibly could.


	18. Right By God

A month or so had passed since then and Pollution had enrolled into the same school as Adam and his friends. Through some miracle no one had asked much about how a child with white hair and bright blue eyes never had been noticed before, but the questions did come later on when that child exclusively spent the time they didn't spend with the Them digging around in the schoolyard at recess.

When someone other than their new friends asked them why they did all that, they said with a small grin, that they had been forbidden to pollute much and were using it as a balance to destroy at least some lives, and than casually turned their back to them and continued.

They knew they shouldn't make it painfully obvious to show what they really were, but it was too much fun to see the confused looks, not only from the children but teachers as well.

The Them by now knew one-hundred percent what they were. Even the part that they were a horseman couldn't be kept hidden for long, but after a lot of reassuring that everything was alright, they had went with it and even sometimes leaned over to get them back out of it, if they were too far gone and went into a vegetative state.

Crowley had kind of taken on a job at Aziraphale's bookshop by now. Well, kind of job, since he mostly only sat somewhere and 'helped someone find a book', which rather resulted in him scaring them away, or he slithered around in snake form -he had lost his fear of it since Aziraphale had not only reassured him that even if he'd forget his original form he would help him go back, but also because he had convinced him that it would be fun.

And by god...or satan...or humanity, whichever you liked to say; it was.

He had his own little corner with a gigantic pillow and loved to slither around, scaring potential customers by hissing at them and snapping. And he could doze off and sleep a lot too. A huge plus. Oh and not to mention the many times that he could lie on Aziraphale's lap that way, or would be picked up and pet, or could just lazily snake around him while the angel would sit somewhere, drinking a cup of hot cocoa and reading, getting lost in his book world.

So many positive sides to it.

He also had moved the most neccessary of items over from his apartment to the bookshop and had made himself at home, staying mostly there, only sometimes going over to 'care' for his plants or to take a fun ride with his Bentley.

He had pillow fights with Pollution and would help them study and play in the rain with them and would take them to drive around and to an arcade hall where they would beat most of the highscores, sometimes with a little trick. He liked to say he had started tolerating the smaller demon, while someone else might say, he had grown to like them.

And they had all kind of grown more accustomed to being a little family. They would get up, possibly have breakfast together, later maybe eat lunch out or dinner, would have evenings where they would play board games or go shopping together.

They had even convinced them to new clothes and a few stuffed animals and game consoles, and Crowley may have tempted them to a pet rat. It had been quite the horror to explain THAT to the angel.

It had brought a lot of perks to have Crowley moving into the bookshop to Aziraphale and Polly, a significant one being that he didn't have to deal with annoying customers for too long anymore since Crowley could just slither up to them and get the most persistent people to flee. It also helped a lot with getting the young demon to experience things a normal human family would do together, and showing them all the things life had to offer they hadn't experienced in their time on earth yet.

While Crowley took mostly part in showing them what fun stuff was out there, or how to mess with people without using too much magic, Aziraphale took more care of teaching them all kinds of ways of human behaviour they hadn't picked up on yet and took up most parts of anything that regarded their education.

Sometimes he forgot that Polly didn't have to be taught all the things a child needed to be taught, but then again, Polly had incredible knowledge in technology and how long it would take for chemicals to ruin life on earth for all of humanity, but hadn't known what basic math was and at first looked at it as if it was some kind of dead language that had died out before their time.

Pretty fast they had also come to the conclusion, that even if Pollution was pretty much demon royalty, they didn't have the powers a normal demon had. They were solely born as a demon for the purpose of destruction, though in that their powers were upped to incredible levels.

After an incident in which they accidentally had cut the electricity of the entire street, just because they were having an episode and refused to give it back until they had gotten what they wanted, it also had become a high responsibility to get the kid to control their powers and not waste it by simply thinking about what they wanted to do.

To put it easy, it had been quite the experience so far to get the demon child to behave and attempt, to get it to learn to be less demonic to fit in. It worked pretty well for when the two were around. Pollution would then play as nice as any stubborn kid would.

No one told them how to act though when they weren't around, so it often happened that angry parents would come up to them and try to scold them, which mostly resulted in more problems.

They didn't care.

It happened almost daily now that some kid came up to them during lunch and would confront them again because by a lot of miracles, they kept forgetting it all had happened the day before already.

Crowley was curled up on his pillow in the bookshop and lazily looked around when he heard the phone ringing. Sighing, as far as snakes could sigh when he was trying to actually act like one, he slithered behind the counter and transformed back into human-form, pushing up his glasses and running one hand through his hair that had gotten even longer over the course of the month.

Just a tad bit really, but still noticeable.

He picked up and leaned against the counter, starting to play with his chain necklace, not minding the look one of the customers gave him.

"How can I help you?"

He didn't bother to start with a formal explanation like 'Fell's bookshop'. He had bought a more modern phone, that Aziraphale still struggled with, and had changed the ringtones to two different ones.

If it were for the bookshop it was just a normal ringtone. If it were private calls he had put in classical music, at Aziraphale's request.

He had thought about maybe Cypress Hill or Fields of the Nephilim or, well, anything other than classical, but the angel had insisted that if the calls could be received on the phone in the bookshop, it shouldn't be anything controversial but should fit the atmosphere.

With only little complaining Crowley had given in and put in Liszt. Some ode or something. It's not that he didn't like classical music, some pieces were even rather amazing he deemed, but he just didn't care to memorize anything. He did like bands like Velvet Underground more.

"Greetings Mr. Crowley, I am calling because there has been an incident today involving your child, Polly. I need you to come here immediately. There needs to be a talk about their behaviour", the voice of a middle aged woman said, clearly unamused and making it clear that she wouldn't tolerate any backtalk about that it couldn't be arranged.

She was simply a bitch, according to Polly, and they were not lying about it. Mostly they were able to snake out of any conversations with her, but when they couldn't, they always just wanted to lock her in her office and let the place be filled up with toxic gases to do the world a favor.

Sadly they weren't allowed to do that since Aziraphale insisted on being 'ok' with whatever they did, as long as it didn't involve murder.

"Ah, Mrs. Gardner. An unexpected pleasure your call. What have they done this time?"

The voice of this woman alone made him want to gag and throw something against the wall. Preferably her.

She was the kind you'd expect to meet in hell, or heaven. However you saw it. Smug, self-righteous, a straight out bitch. Could be Gabriel now that he actually thought about it.

His hand slipped from his neklace to the side of the counter, gripping onto it while his face instantly wore an annoyed smile and he leaned back further, voice dripping with fake worry and a smug undertone he didn't bother to hide much.

"They thought it was fun to first terrorize one of their classmates the entire day and then going over to beating him up just now. I highly believe we can agree that this kind of behaviour is nothing that can be excused with simply putting them into detention."

She almost hissed each time she had to use those pronouns when she talked about the kid that was clearly looking like a girl in her eyes, but at least when talking to their parents she kept her mouth shut about the subject.

It didn't sit well with her either how their parents were living their life and just prayed to god that she wouldn't let anything slip. No need to get into a problem with the law that allowed this kind of mockery of a relationship.

"The details we'll discuss once you are here", she said before hanging up hastily.

Before the demon could add a smug remark the phone already beeped loudly, indicating that she had hung up. With a growl he slammed the phone onto the charging station and slammed one hand on the table.

"Fuuuuuck!"

The customer that had before already looked at him confused now jumped, gave him a puzzled, and possibly scared look, and left the bookshop hastily without even so much as a glance back.

Yeah, fuck indeed. Polly thought the exact same as they sat there in front of a bitchy principal and next to a mother holding a crying 'little boy‘.

Yeah right. That fucker was older than that body they inhabited.

They had been yelled at for the past 30 minutes by the principal as they had to wait for that fucking kid‘s mom to decide to move her fat ass over there. The demon was pissed and the only thing that let them keep quiet was that there would be someone coming who'd surely be on their side.

"Aziraphale!"

Crowley put his hands in his pockets and looked around, trying to find the angel that was probably pretty self-absorbed in a story. Now that Crowley was 'working' here too the angel liked to put the work on the demon, which he didn't quite appreciate.

"Goddamnit angel! I don't have time for a hide and seek right now!"

A quiet groan came from the usual place in the back where Aziraphale liked to read, followed by some shuffling as he walked over to where he was called from.

"What is it, dear? I am busy now. It was just starting to get good."

The angel made his point more clear by pointing at the page he was at, though it most definitely wasn't anything the demon cared about.

"The principal called, Polly's in trouble again. I'm supposed to go there now."

He was trying to be angry at his angel for not caring, but he couldn't be mad at those soft, pouty eyes as they explained to him the significance of the book he was holding.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you. I get it, I know you've been wanting to read that for a while now, but I _can't_ do this alone, angel. If I go alone, I won't be able to hold back from gouging that woman's tongue out", he whined.

It was figurative speech. He wasn't as crude as to do something like that. It was just bothersome and uncomfortable to be so harsh on physical pain and he had no joy in having an active hand in torturing people physically, but he would enjoy making her job easier and that faithful ass being thrown out of church and caught doing something outrageous so she‘d lose her job,

At the mentioning of their child he lost all the annoyances of being interrupted, looking at him worried. "Are they hurt? What happened this time?"

His book now forgotten Aziraphale shut it and carefully, yet hastily, placed it down on his desk to pay mind to it later when they would be back. There were just some things in the world that were more important to him than reading. Not a lot, but their small family had become one of those reasons and he didn't want to waste a second if anything happened to the demons.

"Terrorized one of their classmates and beat them up, as she stated. I wanna hear that from them themselves."

"Even if they did such things, no one deserves being scolded for it by **that** woman."

Taking his hand Aziraphale dragged him outside, glancing around the shop to see if it was empty before locking it when they were outside.

"I know you can't handle that woman well. Frankly, I don't like her either. Always trying to be so wise and knowing about what god wants her to do on this planet."

The demon still perched up at the feeling of their hands as one though it wasn't a rarity anymore that they did it. But he still got flustered every single time anew.

Clearing his throat he nodded, opened the doors of the Bentley and gestured for the angel to get inside before he followed.

With a little miracle he got himself into more acceptable clothes than, well, a tight shirt and equally as tight shorts, into a black shimmy with an equally as black skirt, a short one to add, though not so short as to be called indecent, together with fishnet tights and black boots.

He rather liked to throw that woman off guard and mock her with clothes unbecoming of a man, as she stated it. And he also was stated to be working in an office during the day, so he needed to look the part, hair up into a strict bun.

"Hold on tight, I'm going fast. It'd be bothersome if they'd keep lashing out on the brat for even longer."

"Oh, please, go as fast as you need to without terrorising too many people."

It took some of the worry off of the angel when he eyed his significant other in the new clothes and already knew the intentions he had behind it. While Aziraphale had nothing to complain about the look, he still changed the fishnet tights to boring, normal black tights to not have that insufferable woman lashing out over him more than she already was going to do once they would leave.

Crowley sighed as he felt the miracle tingling as the tights were changed and he flashed his lover a pouty look.

"It's called fashion and it's pretty, you know?"

Within only a few moments, it had seemed, he arrived at the school, tires screeching painfully as he nearly drifted onto the parking lot and stopped the car perfectly.

"Your sense in fashion is something I appreciate but I doubt she would so let's keep it like that."

When they arrived he already wanted to turn around, leave again and put a miracle on everyone to make them forget what went down. Instead he gave Crowley one last look before he stepped out of the Bentley and waited for him to do the same so they could go in there together to get it over with.

Polly already wore a wide smile when they felt them rolling up onto the parking lot and relaxed further into their seat just to get another comment about how they were ruining their posture like that from Mrs. Gardner.

Crowley had purred appreciatively at the comment and stepped out as well, locking the car with a snap and brushing over his skirt before he walked alongside his angel and up the stairs to the principal's office, waiting for Aziraphale to open the door. It was better if he started the talking. He only stood there with a smile, hands folded together in his lap in an unusally tame posture.

It took exactly 0.1 seconds after Aziraphale had opened the door for the principal to start talking.

"Ah, finally, you are here. I thought we would have to wait another hour", she sneered and tapped her nails impatiently on her desk.

Aziraphale, still being as polite as ever, took his time to shut the door behind Crowley with the least amount of noise possible before he took his place behind Polly.

"We have to apologize that we kept you waiting, Mrs. Gardner. The traffic has been terrible and there wasn't any faster way of getting here."

„Ah."

She didn't listen. Her judging eyes were already all over the demon but she kept her mouth shut and only shook her head.

"Well, now that everyone is here we can start to talk about what went down. Would you like to start, Polly?"

The demon shook their head and nodded over to the STILL quivering kid. "Let him start."

The boy perked up, looked at his mom, glanced at the principal, looked at Pollution‘s parents and finally landed with his eyes on Polly themselves.

"I said some things to her, spoke my mind and then she didn't leave me alone for the rest of the day. When I asked her what her problem was she freaked out and hurt me."

He held out his arm and hesitated before lifting his shirt to show off that he had bruises there too, not only a swollen cheek.

"There, you heard it. They are a danger to-"

"Bullshit! It's not even bothering me that this lowlife talked to me that made me react like that! It was what they said! They-!"

"Quiet! No manners at all! You gave him the turn to speak and now you say he is lying? Well, that isn't the way we do things here, missy!"

"Well the way you do it here is shit! I want to have him repeat the shit he said! This doesn't mean anything yet!"

Angry to no beliefs Pollution turned around to look pleading at their parents to try and get them to help.

"Well, I'd love to hear the full story too so if you'd be so kind as to tell us what you said to them", Aziraphale turned to the boy who gave him a disgusted look in return.

Unwillingly the boy rolled his eyes and clung to his mother with a proud smile.

"I just told her that whatever you are doing is wrong, that god would be judging you when the time comes for it and that you'd all go to hell for the sins you are committing now. I just wanted to help her to think about her sins and how lucky I am to be having a normal family and not…", he glared at the two celestial beings.

"... One like hers. I only wanted to help her find the right path. That was the right thing to do, right mommy?"

"Yes, honey. You did very well. But that...that thing", she pointed at Pollution, fingers trembling and head growing reddish with mad fury.

"She went and hurt my poor little Henry when he did nothing and had only good on his mind! I knew that it wasn't right to let homo's adopt children! They'll grow wicked and wrong!"

Crowley had with all this only sat beside Pollution, clicking the perfect, long and sharp black fingernails he had miracled himself on the way up against the table. Though he did place one hand on Polly's shoulder in a way to calm them since they went furious, trembling in their seat.

"Mrs.Gardner! I believe it the correct choice to not only expell this child, but also make sure her parent's go to prison for child abuse and that child goes to a home for difficult children!"

She looked at Aziraphale. With Crowley she didn't even wish to speak. A disgrace for all of mankind how he sat there. In a skirt with high heeled boots and painted, long fingernails and long hair and with sunglasses on. Hadn't he learned that wearing sunglasses inside was rude? She would get back to that later.

"There is **no** excuse for this! None! Or do you wish to now tell me about a mysterious mental issure your daughter has? I see one clearly. She has aggression problems and thinks she's a...a thing. She thinks she is a thing! How can you raise your child to think it would be a thing!? Be ashamed of yourselves!"

She was panting for air and rested back into her seat, fanned with her hand with the perfectly cut nails, her chest rising and falling rapidly under that ridiculous blouse screaming 'I am a housewive'. She had both her hands back on her son's shoulder and massaged him it looked like.

"I am no slave to the way you gender things. God made me to be like this. She sent me out to be the way I want to be and I don't want to be seen as either girl nor boy. I'll make sure that when you show up on heaven‘s gate, I'll personally drag you down to hell, trust me", Polly started and would have gone on about how they supposedly had anger issues and that bitch sat there, panting like she ran a marathon after insulting their family.

But just as they wanted to continue, the angel put his hands on their shoulders, making sure to cover Crowley's hand with his too.

"I believe we have different ideas of what the Almighty wants. She never had anything to say about that matter, but she does have a huge problem with stuck up women that think they know everything but in reality are blinded by the hate someone else projected onto them. I can't be mad at you for the way you think, but I really believe you should reconsider your way of thinking. I usually wouldn't go as far as to say this, but even in hell you'll be met with a whole lot of judgement for that way of speaking about homosexuality. Now, if you'll excuse us-"

"Mom! I don't want to go to hell! They called god a woman! Did you hear?! I don't want to hear this! They are too far gone to be repent, Satan has their souls already! I don't want to be in a room with satan worshipers that spread lies about god!"

Henry grabbed onto his mom's blouse in disbelief.

"Now hold on. Did you just call us satan worshippers?"

Crowley let out a small laugh in amusement, a hint of annoyance grazing his words though the hand cupping his calmed him greatly. It was pretty funny to him how a principality of heaven was called a satan worshipper. He'd even pick it up as a tease for Aziraphale, if it hadn't come from such a foul mouthed brat and his mother.

"Mrs. Gardner. You are the principal of this school, shouldn't you calm us all down a little? There is no use in talking if we're all screaming, now is there."

He purposely ignored to look at the woman cradling her child and stared at the principal, head resting on his free hand.

"My baby, oh honey, my sweet angel, oh bubu, you poor thing...", the woman had rambled on, cupping her son's face and and pressing her hands onto his ears so he wouldn't have to listen anymore to what was being said. She showered his face in little kisses, even pressing a few pecks on his lips, which was disgusting as is.

"I will not have any of this anymore! You **blasphemous** child abusers! _My poor poor Henry_! Mrs. Gardner! They need to be **removed** from this room! Immediately!", the woman screeched while tears pooled in her eyes.

Crowley was a little taken aback at that. He had had a lot of talks already with the principal and parents but that child, Henry, had only recently transferred to the school, as far as he knew, and he had not in a very, very long time had a talk with someone as discriminatingly homophobic as that.

It disgusted him and his smile wavered, growing from amused to cold, hand twitching underneath his angel's which indicated that if the angel wouldn't take over again soon, something very bad would happen.

"As much as I don't believe in their ways of living, I am legally not in any position to throw them out for..", she eyed them with a very, verryyy forced smile that softened a little when she looked back at Henry's mother. "Throwing around their views on god and them living out their _vomit inducing_ way of life. I understand that you are quite upset about this, but I can't do much I'm afraid."

Sensing the tension rising in both demons to an extremely high level the angel squeezed Polly's shoulder and Crowley's hand as a warning to stand down.

"I'm very sorry it is causing you so many problems to accept people as they are and constantly criticizing everyone, but once something is thrown at you, you have the need to throw a fit. You believe that we are influencing them?"

He let go of the demons and waked around the chair to squat down in front of Polly.

"Dear, do you feel the need have sex with anyone and anything that comes your way?"

A bit confused the young demon took a moment to think about what he wanted from them before slowly shaking their head.

"Um, no? That would be fucking weird to start with since I am a kid."

The angel then turned towards the hysterical mother.

"Miss, do you feel like your son would start going after boys now that we are here or has the need to question his gender identity?"

"Ew, that's gross! Why would I want that?! Mommy, I want to go home!"

Henry pulled rougher on his mom's clothes and wrapped his arms tighter around her neck, looking like he was ready to burst out into tears again.

"How can you even SAY something like that in front of children?! Something is wrong in your brain! This is just wro-!"

The woman choked on her spit and had a coughing fit just the moment Crowley had moved one of his fingers just slightly.

"You are **perverted** and **wrong**! Trying to influence my poor Henry to kiss boys or do...!"

She turned even brighter red and the veins under her skin showed to a point where it looked like they'd pop right through her skin.

"Do **things**! Have you no shame? Have you no dignity?! Mrs. Gardner, I will file a complaint about this! Either this girl leaves the school or my boy will! I will **not** tolerate any of this! See how well your reputation will take this! Henry, we're going!"

She stood up, hand firmly wrapped around her son's, and she left the room sooner than anyone could even blink, slamming the door behind her. She had avoided to get anywhere even near close the couple with their child, eyeing them with a face full of disgust.

Once she was gone they could hear a loud scream and a thump and Crowley snickered quietly and coldly, shifting closer to Pollution to whisper into their ear what he had done.

Usually Aziraphale would have done a little miracle to fix that mess right up, usually he wasn't dealing with people as bad as that woman though so he gave them a pass. Besides, the way Polly giggled already all too knowingly made it clear that nothing should be changed.

Terrified, Mrs. Gardner jumped up to go and see if that woman was alright and opened her mouth as to say something to the three before she shook her head and rushed to aid the still screaming woman.

Sighing in relief the angel got back up and straightened his clothes before shaking his head.

"Tsk, some humans can be such a problem. I wonder how god could let that happen..."

Polly jumped out of their chair and shoved their hands in their pockets, rocking back and forth.

"Sooo... I'm not getting in trouble for that, right? They deserved that."

"No, you ARE getting into trouble for doing that. Because of **you** we had to deal with this bullcrap too."

Crowley pushed his nail into their chest right above the heart and glared at them.

"What the fuck were you thinking beating that kid up? Yeah, he deserved that. His mom too. And that fucking principal. But how many times have I told you to stay out of BLOODY trouble? We're ALL getting into trouble if you do, so keep it at throwing some mud in his shoes or something and watch as he writhes in disgust, but **don't** let it be caught that it was you!", he hissed and moved in closer, eyes sparking with anger underneath the sunglasses.

"Sure, I would have loved to keep hearing some stupid wanna-be christian kid telling me about how fucked up my family is. Sounds real fucking nice."

They swatted his hand away and crossed their arms instead, looking at him in a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"I know YOU might want to be downgraded, but I could bring the apocalypse. Fuck, I could start a third world war and get the horsemen to assemble faster if I'd feel like it. I'm no one‘s bitch unlike you."

"Oh, we're definitely going to talk about this at home you little brat", Crowley hissed and stood up to walk beside them.

"Polly."

Aziraphale gave them a warning look, casually glossing over their remarks as he firmly pressed his hand to their back to make them start moving.

"We'll talk about this at home. No excuses or complaints from you until then, got it? This day is stressful enough thanks to you, so you better keep it down for now."

Not being able to keep up that 'angry father' look for long he softened his grip but still pushed them along.

"You did what you thought was right, but violence doesn't solve anything, I thought you knew that by now."

At the casual ignorance of what the child had said Crowley shot the angel an angry glare.

"Don't even think about forgiving them and glossing over this. Did you actually hear what they just said?"

The woman wasn't lying anymore where he thought he had tripped her, which should mean that the principale was guiding the two out.

"I heard them, yes", was all the angel said to that and wordlessly guided Polly to the car.

On the parking lot, when he saw that woman being so over dramatic over having broken her leg and whining to a paramedic the principal had called, he couldn't help himself but to accidentally make the paramedic trip as he was trying to help that woman get into the ambulance, to make her land on her already broken leg once more.

Feeling a bit better about what went down the last few minutes, he sat down in the passenger seat, waiting for Crowley to drive them home.

The demon lost the will to argue when he saw his angel doing something rather...unbecoming of an angel. That was the absolute first time he had seen Aziraphale using a miracle to do something bad and that couldn't mean something good. More the opposite. And that was saying it nicely.

Thanks to the commotion with all that the principal didn't bother to talk to them anymore and they could take the time to drive home, slowly at first when they were still in sight of the school, then at the normal speed Crowley would go at, maybe a little faster as he grumbled, none of his usual lazy posture but instead tensed up and gripping tightly onto the steering wheel while he brought them safely home through the silence.


	19. Grounded

Just as silently as they got in the car, they left it again. Something didn't feel right. Never had it been this quiet before and now even the small demon got to feel uneasy. Without saying a word they followed close behind the angel, shooting the other demon a questioning look. Maybe this all didn't mean much, hopefully it didn't. 

It wasn't like they were super excited to find that out. The point that made the silence even worse was that despite them standing in their home, doors locked so no visitors would come by, no one spoke a word. Aziraphale had taken a seat at his desk and simply watched them, waiting for anyone to start doing anything.

Crowley felt like he was the one under trial too, not only Pollution, since he too sat in front of the desk, only he with one leg resting on top of the other in a chair and Pollution a tad away from him and a little more in the angel's focus point of view on the sofa. 

Since he got squirmy and uneasy in the silence he sighed and looked at the child, sunglasses by now clipped to the collar of his shimmy so he could look at them directly. 

"To rerun this: That boy has insulted you and us, so you beat him black and blue resulting in us having to come over for a talk with the principal and that boy's dunce of a mother and get you out of this. Not ONLY did you ignore our restriction for violence but you also have the nerve to afterwards insult me on it? Let me hear it, where did you even get this from?" 

Of course this talk was supposed to be about the violence they had inflicted on that child, very deserving indeed, he HATED people like that. And he had attended a lot of pride parades by now and seen church fanatics hunt down the attendants of the parade. 

But what was rather bothering him was the way they spoke about him. Not only did they seem to know something they really shouldn't, that also had sounded like they were losing their respect for him as their father-figure.

"I was defending the ones that I love, I thought that's normal to do. You told me not to kill. No one said anything about not showing that kid his place! If any of this bullshit rambling from that guy hadn't been so annoying and lasting through the entire day to rile me up further, it wouldn't have even come that far!" 

To some parts they were happy to not stand there in silence anymore. It didn't help that once they had a topic to bitch about again they went right back to where they had left off. 

"Well, of course you should protect the ones you love but-!"

"It sounds more like it bothers you more how I talk about you than the actual 'bad' thing I did." 

With a little smirk they shrugged. 

"And where I got this from? I'm sorry but we are living in the same house. You are like two rooms away from mine and there might have been an occasion where I saw what was going on too. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how you like to play." 

Aziraphale kept out of the conversation for now and just observed them with a neutral expression, making sure to have both demons in his sight at all times.

Crowley turned bright red when he was interrupted with Pollution's explanation. 

"Oh, you little shit", he growled warningly, looking about ready to to give them the scolding of their life. 

"For one, the doors were bloody locked so that means that you have done something to manipulate it which a fucking kid SHOULD NOT do. For second, it is NONE of your business and I have told you before already, if you don't remember, when you were still whiny and clinging to me with your bugger filled nose and you didn't have a single bloody clue about all of this, that it is something to have in PRIVATE. Do you understand me, bratty? Keep your nose off that stuff and keep playing those stupid games in your room or go play with your pet rat and shove them up your arse if you're so interested in that!" 

Grinding his teeth he had by now uncrossed his legs and sat leaned forward towards Pollution, hands twitchy as he clung to the armrests, knuckles shining white underneath the skin at the strain.

"If you don't want me to hear it, stop being so loud. Even when I'm not trying to listen, which I only really wanted to do the first time, I can still hear most of it." 

Polly dropped their smirk to look more serious. Teasing him was fun and all but this was kinda involving them getting a punishment already so it took some of the delight it brought. 

"Ugh, I'll keep out of it until I get too annoyed by it. Wasn't like I wanted to see how you were fucked silly any ways. I've seen people do it for years but at least I didn't know them nor knew what the fuck was going on at the time." 

It probably should have felt threatening to get him pissed but they shrugged it off and mockingly moved over to sit down next to him with an innocent smile. 

"Now", Aziraphale finally started off. " Polly, you tried to do something good, which is always, well, a good thing to do but the way you did it to caused more trouble not only to you but to us both as well. I hope you are aware that this kind of behaviour can't be tolerated and brushed off just like that." 

He settled back into a calmer position. 

"Don't even think about pulling anything like that for the rest of the time you have to go to school this year. The consequences for that we'll hopefully not have to discuss because you surely wouldn't just get away with sitting in the corner to think about what you have done. I think since you had something good in mind you only have to stay down here and be nice to anyone that comes by and spend the rest of the time in your room for the rest of the week. Nothing too bad." 

He casted his gaze to the other demon. 

"Anything you want to add, dear? You are better at punishments like that anyway."

The demon had wanted to add something to Polly‘s streak of rambling about the demon‘s sex life but he had been interrupted yet again, this time by his angel that had, to his luck, taken the conversation from his hands. 

If he would have been allowed to keep rambling on it wouldn‘t have ended well. So instead he just grabbed their ear and pulled at it slightly to wipe that smile off their face before he stood up and straightened his skirt. 

"I think I do have an idea, angel." 

Turning to Pollution his human form wavered a little as he already started morphing back into a snake. 

"I'll confiscate your phone and game console as well as tv. If you're bored you can try your hands at drawing something or ask your dad to give you a book. Reading is rather informative. It might even help you get rid of a bit of your rotten attitude." 

He smiled at them with the same smug smile they had shown him before and made a handmotion which made very clear that what he had just listed was gone and not easily attainable for them. 

Only a few seconds later he was fully transformed; a huge, black snake with sharp yellow eyes, more huge than he usually was when he transformed. Hissing quietly he declared the conversation for over and turned away to slither over to the angel, snaking up his side to rest his head on his shoulder.

"Take away my-! Are you trying to kill me of boredom?! Come on, I punched one stupid kid and looked at them funny and I get THIS?! I-" 

Polly got ready to continue arguing until they would get out of their punishment but got silenced as the angel simply put up his hand. 

"The longer you complain the worse it'll get for you. Take that time to think about if you want to beat anyone up again. Now, enjoy the rest of your day." 

With that he dismissed the young demon who still stood there, huffing before turning and stomping away into the back of the shop.

Crowley sighed distressed and nuzzled into the crook of Aziraphale's neck. 

"Damn kid." 

With a bit of quiet grumbling he untangled himself from the angel and slipped half of his heavy body onto the desk in front of him. 

"Hate that sssstupid principale. Could be working out fine to have them go to sssschool but we get a christian idiot assss headmaster. Assss if having them under control issssn't hard enough already."

"I wanted them to go there with Adam. I didn't know a woman like that was running it." 

Aziraphale still had his head turned to where the kid had disappeared. 

"Such a mockery of a good christian, that woman." 

"A good chrisssstian?" 

Crowley couldn't have laughed harder at the thought. 

"I know up to no good christianssss. If you ask me, christianity issss one of the most bloody and sssstupid and material religions there issss. Might assss well call it a cult for all it'ssss worth."

"Most of the bad ones have vanished from the face of the earth. Oh I miss the times where it had been so much easier to be who you want to be." 

Since they both had lived through all the stages humanity went through he knew what he talked about. Before humans had started judging one another harder and had played out their power to make people believe their idiocies it had been so much easier to go around. Without all that hate everywhere.

"Burrrrn da witcssshh", Crowley snickered and quietly quoted from the bible.

Aziraphale sighed. For now he needed a distraction to keep his thoughts far away from anything unpleasant and playing with the demon had always proven itself to be a good one. Casually he let his hand glide over his body as if to pet him while he changed the subject back to their kid, saying what he had wanted to state before they had started talking about religion.

"They act like a kid. Not in the normal way a human kid would but they aren't bound to destroy the planet. Not yet."

When Aziraphale pet him he made a satisfied noise but turned more serious at the new subject. 

"I guessss they do. Most of it isss thssssanks to you and the kidsss. They could by now be misssstaken for any young brat that'll start going thsssrough puberty ssssoon."

"Mostly thanks to me and the kids? You did a huge part in getting them to where they are now. You started the whole thing. I think that's worth mentioning. Oh and especially when they hit puberty I doubt there is much I can do then."

"I didn't do anythssing. You're the one teaching them human behaviour, i'm jusssst teaching them how to control their powerssss and need for desstruction. Doesssn't count up for asss much." 

He nugded Aziraphale's hand as a request to pet his head before he continued. 

"In puberty you will be the mosst important part. You're their only voicccssse of reasssson. Though they will mossst certainly hate you for it. The them and me will only add to their missschievous part. Though they won't get far if they try anythsssing too crazy."

To the request he happily obliged and slid his hand up to his head to pet him there but still frowned, if just a little bit, at the way Crowley saw what he had done for the small demon. 

"You teach them how to not destroy everything and brush it off as nothing? That doesn't sound like nothing to me. Also, from what I can tell they picked up a lot more of your behavior than what I have thaught them." 

"That's only because i'm a demon and they're more used to my methods", the demon mumbled but brushed it off together with the little nice tingle at the credit he was given.

"I know you two are close and care about each other more than you say you are." 

He still disliked the way each and every compliment got brushed off by the other but let it happen. Aziraphale was aware that the demon knew it deep down that he was right. There didn't have to be an argument about that unless Crowley pleased to start one up.

To change the subject up again Aziraphale let his thoughts wander to a small little Pollution going through puberty and chuckled before he gave him a questioning look. 

"During puberty they might turn out to be worse than they are now but that would hardly be a problem. They can hate me as much as they want but I doubt they'll be worse than the archangels."

"Talllk to me about the greater good ssssunshine, I am the archangel-fucking Gabriel", Crowley started mocking what the archangel had said the day that Aziraphale, or he as Aziraphale, had been sentenced to death and evaded it just by the earlier preparations the two had made. 

Laughing weirdly hissed he continued: "The archangel fucking Gabriel. I'm sure he doesssss a lot of archangel fucking the way he talksss."

Alone the mocking way the demon mimicked his former boss made Aziraphale want to go back up there to give the angels a piece of his mind but that would be foolish to do. 

"Gabriel had been horrible to deal with. I rather have a few demon teenagers rebelling than having to deal with him again. Would be a whole lot more pleasant."

Another sharp laugh escaped Crowley which made his whole body shudder before he pushed himself up lazily, dragging the rest of his body along and shrinking a little so he could curl up on the table just fine without making too much of a mess. Thinking of the angels made him think of something else though. 

"Oh, I'm sssssure that you'd look gorgeousss in full gold though. A bit of golden lipstick and eyessssshadow and little gold earringssss and a fierccssse suit like they were trying to sport but better and the sssssmall ring on your finger glistening in the ssssun along withsss your opal hair. And your wingssss would glissten in the morning light and maybe a few golden dropsss right here."

Crowley slowly moved upwards to lick over his temples to show where he imagined them to be. Since he didn't have arms in that form he couldn't quite point at them after all. Lazily letting himself fall back into the little bundle of snake he looked at him nearly dreamy, getting lost in that imagination in his head.

"That's so over the top. All that gold and pure white to cover up what they were underneath fooled me for so long. Such a shame that it turned out that way-"

The angel took some time to realize the other had licked him before curling up to silently watch him but when he did he stopped his rambling and smiled softly instead. 

It never had been his style to be THAT much over the top but if the demon liked that idea he'd maybe try it once to make him happy with it. It had to be special though. He'd have to think about it.

"But you aren't covering up anything. You'd just be pure gold, literally." 

Crowley spoke in a teasingly seductive tone but his honesty shined through and he quickly hid his head in the mess of snake a little flustered.

It was good he could rest now after that morning and could finally do what he had been wanting to do anyway. Curl up and be pampered a little by his angel. With the exception that he had counted the angel to read while that happened but the morning had overthrown that a little.

The image didn't sit well with him but the angel still said: "I'll think about it", and reached out to Crowley to put the snake on his lap where he continued to run his hands along his body. 

He didn't want to think much about how he'd look like or if the demon would even be happy with it in the end. All he wanted now was to sit back, enjoy the day with as less stress as possible and that was it. As long as there wouldn't be a problem he'd simply shoo anyone away that disturbed the time he spent with his partner.

When he was pulled on the angel's lap the demon rested his head on one of the angel's arms and hissed happily at the tingly feeling the other's hands left on his silky scales. 

"If you don't want to wear gold you could alwayssss just wear sssssomething elsssse like..." 

His head perched up and he stared at Aziraphale with shining eyes. 

"A dresss! I've never seen you in a dresss before!"

"You haven't because I've never tried it and I didn't have an interest in it yet. Like I've said. I'll think about it, ok?" 

Aziraphale smiled slightly and booped him before picking up his book to continue to read where he had gotten interrupted. 

"You are thinking an awful lot about what I should wear. Do I really need different clothes that badly?"

Crowley had wanted to respond to the question with a 'no‘. That was honest. He loved the little quirky, classic and soft style of clothes the other preferred to wear. He didn't deny his interest in the angel wearing something different for once though. 

When the angel pressed one finger against his nose he blinked confused and pulled his head back before looking at Aziraphale a little puzzled. 

"Do that again."

"Hm?" The angel looked away from his book after having just found the line again he had been interrupted reading before. 

"Do what? This?" 

He lightly booped his head again.

Excitedly Crowley let his head bob back and looked still a bit puzzled. This was oddly fun. Nudging Aziraphale's finger he let out a happy hiss and rubbed his head against it. 

"Again!"

At the odd behavior Aziraphale could only laugh and put his book down as fast as he had picked it up. 

"You are too precious, my dear" 

Planting a kiss on the top of his head he repeated to boop him.

If the demon had been in human form he would have probably blushed deeply red. Since he was a snake however his body only shook with excitement and his tongue sprung out. 

Hissing a bit deeper when Aziraphale was getting closer to boop him again Crowley sprung forward and snatched onto the angel's finger, victoriously hanging onto him while he uncurled a little to be able to hold on.

The wriggles in excitement and happy hisses that came from the snake as he held onto him were too cute. If anyone would be told that this was a demon, sent originally onto earth to cause mayhem, they'd all probably laugh and ask if they could hold the creature. 

Though thinking about how he acted around anyone he didn't like, it wouldn't be the best idea to hand him over. Not that he necessarily wanted to give him away in the first place. 

With the hand that wasn't occupied by the demon, Aziraphale held him up to help him holding onto him. He didn't move much to let him do his thing, he rather only assisted and did things on the demon's requests.

The demon curled around the arm the angel used to help him up and tightened his grip on him teasingly, giving him a cheeky look as if to challenge him to go against him rather than follow along. 

He rather liked to mock the angel until his nice attitude dropped, even if for only a moment. It was so very fun when he could do that. Because he was basically one of the only ones who could make the angel annoyed without actually angry.

Aziraphale didn't even so much as flinch as his hands were more or less tied up but be did shoot him a look along the lines of: 'What kind of game are you playing now?', without actually saying anything about it. 

He was tempted to say something but decided against it. That's what he was out for, wasn't he? He wanted to get him to question him to a point where he would get more than just a little frustrated about it. 

Alright, if he wanted to play like that he'd let him try his worst to get there. Hopefully by having kind of a knowledge about what he was trying to do would make him last longer than when he had been caught off guard.

Crowley watched the angel for a while, satisfied enough with the puzzled look he was given. Pulling back he hissed quietly which sounded somewhat like an amused 'boo'. 

"You're no fun ssssometimessss."

Aziraphale poked him to the best of his abilities while the snake was wrapped around his arms.

"You could have said something beforehand. Maybe I could have caught you off guard then."

Pouting quietly Crowley let himself be poked for a while before he slid away from his arm and back to the table where he morphed back into his usual appearance in the blink of an eye, sitting on the table and cupping Aziraphale's face. 

"I'm bored."

The angel smoothed out the folds that had formed on his sleeves after having the demon wrapping himself around his arms. Only when that was out of the way he thought about looking at the one who started holding him again. 

"Searching for affection, being bored, call it as you want. Anyways, I'm afraid there isn't much I can offer to get rid of that."

"Well, I can't annoy the kid now can I? They're supposed to be grounded and all." 

Grimacing like his boredom really caused him pain he let go of Aziraphale and threw his head back, letting out a long sigh before he shifted off of the table and stretched. 

"This morning sucks."

"It could be worse,you are overexaggerating a little."

He followed his movements with his eyes, not seeing a point in doing much else. 

"Also, I doubt they'd let you annoy them for long today. Grounded or not. I'm afraid you have to find your entertainment somewhere else."

"I wouldn't even annoy them that would mean that they'd start having fun. We can't have that when they're grounded." 

Gnashing his teeth he snatched the book Aziraphale had been reading from the counter and turned it in his hands to read the title and flip through the pages.

"Ooooh, you're reading this?"

"I am. I don't know what else I could possibly be doing with a book", the angel gave off as a small remark but went over from observing to being a little curious what his lover was up to. 

"Why are you asking? I doubt you want to read anything. You said it yourself that you aren't into it."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I don't read." 

While Crowley had before been squinting his eyes as if that could help him read better he quickly slammed the book shut when Aziraphale mentioned it. 

"I don't read books." 

He accentuated the 'don't' and just placed the book down on the couch. He liked that book though it had taken him years to get through since reading wasn't, well, easy with his eyes. Turning around a little too dramatic as if he was dancing around a needletop Crowley needed a moment to find the right words before he continued. 

"I...nghmmm...crêpes. We need to go out for crêpes again."

The statement paired with the way he acted made the other want to comment on how he didn't need to articulate it to make him believe it. The mentions of his favorite sweet treat however made him forget all about it. 

"We don't need to really but I'd in no way complain about it!" 

Shrugging it off the demon sighed but grinned at the most obvious reaction the angel could have given him. Crossing his arms in front of his chest a bit smug, he gave him a look like he had the most knowledge in the world and definitely knew something Aziraphale didn't.

"Well, well. Then do you really think you know everything about crepes there is to know?"

The angel didn't have time to go on with what he had originally wanted to say. Not when he got asked about something he clearly knew a lot about and the other made it seem like he didn't. 

"Of course I do! How could I not?"

"Then did you know...that crepes can be savoury?"

Aziraphale lost some of the excitement in his voice at the mentioned savoury but did his best to not let it show too much. 

"I saw people selling it. So, yes, I know it exists."

Pouting the demon looked disappointed as he uncrossed his arms to shove them in his pockets.

"Wait...you knew?"

"I thought you were aware of that, that I knew that, I mean. I love crêpes, how could I not know that? Though, I wish I didn't know anything of it." 

The angel sighed and got up from his seat, his excited expression back on his face. 

"Anyway. When and where did you think about going? I hope you know by now where they sell the best crêpes."

"France. I know, I know. I don't care much but if we're gonna go there we should find someone to give the brat to. Or wait until they have holiday. Teleporting isn't quite the...nicest and easiest thing after all." 

"Teleporting is the fastest and easiest way to get to France. We could go there now and leave the kid a note", he reasoned and was prepared to go on further about if he even wanted to take the other demon with them or call up Anathema to see if they could drop them off at her place. If Crowley still wasn‘t willing that is. 

"But it takes so much energy to do...", Crowley whined, already regretting the mess he had gotten himself in again.

"The energy is worth it!" 

"If you carry me", Crowley mumbled, not wanting to waste all that much energy on just a crepe.

Though maybe he did. If it would make the angel happy. But there definitely wouldn't be enough energy in him to port there and back.

Azirphale‘d be damned if he hadn‘t taken that as an agreement to go. Clapping his hands together he pushed the thought of those wannabe delicious crêpes, the savoury ones that slowly crept back, into the back of his mind and went back to being excited. 

"If it's only bothering you to get there and back I could cover that part."

"You're an angel, not god herself. Where the fuck are you gonna take that energy from? You can't just port two people back and forth and call it a day like nothing's been." 

He raised an eyebrow at his overexcited lover. He wasn't gonna let him endanger himself just for some stupid food. And it wasn't gonna be healthy porting them both to France and back. Not even for a damned principality.

"I'll figure something out, it'll be worth it!" 

He dismissed how he got told what he could and couldn't do and placed his hands on Crowley's chest.

"Besides, it would be cruel of you to tell me you are thinking about getting crêpes and are now saying we'd have to wait to go there like humans would." 

Huffing he watched his finger drawing small circles on his lover's chest before casting his eyes up to give him a disappointed look.

"Well- I'm not-" 

Those puppy eyes again. There was no way he could defy them and Aziraphale knew that full well.

Sighing Crowley rubbed his temples, growing flustered at the soft touches on his chest. 

"How about a deal. We're not going to France, but I can make you crepes here, okay? I'm not going to let you endanger yourself just for some damn food. Not again." 

Not like during the fucking french revolution. He was still mad at the angel for that. 

"Or you can go yourself, i guess. If you don't have me to drag around it should be enough. Just be back before dawn or else I'll get restless. Like when you helped that damned old lady all day and didn't FUCKING respond until early in the morning." 

He gave him a judging look at the mentioned event. Crowley had been trying to call the angel several times during that day, waiting anxiously for him to come home since he had only been wanting to go shopping but hadn't returned. 

The demon had seriously been worried that Aziraphale had been kidnapped again. That was also one thing he hadn't forgiven his lover. Not for all the puppy eyes in the world.

The angel immediately lit up further at the alternative his lover proposed to him. The possibility of Crowley's baking skill not being up to the level of his favorite chefs in France was high but that didn't matter. The gesture alone already made him want to shower the demon with kisses. 

"Do you think I'd want to go alone when you are offering to bake for me? Of course I will stay here for that!" 

Not bothering to hide his excitement, Aziraphale threw his arms around him and placed a few pecks on his cheek to show his appreciation. 

Heat rushed to the demon‘s face as the bundle of fluff bounced up and down slightly, pushing onto him with such vigour that you'd worry Crowle'd snap right in two. "I get it, I get it."

When Crowley agreed he added, a bit reprehensive: "And I promised you a lot of times that I won't get carried away like that again. You'll have to forgive me for it eventually."

"Or not", the demon grumbled at the 'forgiving part'. A little awkwardly he wrapped his arms around Aziraphale and pat his back before he snapped and they stood in his kitchen at his own apartment.

"Anything in particular?"


	20. Crepes and Teases

Feeling victorious, even though there had been nothing to win, he let go of the demon after one more quick kiss. If it'd continue to stay this good, he couldn't complain one bit.

"As long as you make it sweet, I don't mind what you do. Surprise me."

Aziraphale booped him on the nose once more for good measure, before he went to go and see how the plants were doing. It had sort of become a ritual for him to see how the poor things reacted to him being there, and giving them the praise they'd never get from Crowley.

Crowley didn't even remember to call after the angel to stop pampering his plants because of the affection he had received and only, sort of mechanically, pulled out an apron and a hairband. He made sure his hair sat perfectly, not one strand hanging in front of his face, before he looked through the kitchen and took a deep breath.

He hadn't been home in a while, now that he thought about it. Humming quietly in delight he got out a little crepe maker and a few bowls and other utensils. Why he had a crepe maker? Well, he didn't even want to count how many times he had tried making something for the angel and had later thrown it away in frustration; and because he had been too shy to give it to the angel.

And that had went on for long. Very, very long.

He didn't quite have the right ingredients which was why he miracled them, or more, stole them from the supermarket a few blocks away, leaving the money for it in the register -he knew that Aziraphale didn't approve of theft so he wouldn't commit to it. With only a little handgesture. What he was making was gonna be strawberry chocolate with vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream. And he already felt defeated just thinking about it since this was the FIRST time, he actually would do something like this for his angel.

If he fucked up...he didn't even want to think about it. Sighing a little distressed he pointed to a radio, which started playing, and got out a recipe from an old cookbook.

There wasn't much the angel could offer those poor, frightened things as comfort from the years of not being complimented on how nice and beautiful they were. Really, it often shifted more to him telling the plants, how lucky they were to have the demon to take care of them and how he only wanted the best for them, even if his methods were questionable.

Well, as long as the plants weren't terrified of whatever he told them, he continued to do that. For now he didn't even bother trying to keep his volume down as he told the plants about how incredibly sweet his lover was and how happy he made him, obviously to attempt to make the demon listen and get him flustered over it. If it worked or not didn't matter. It was all just a plus to him if he managed to make him listen.

And damn well it did work. Crowley nearly let the egg he had been trying to crack fall into the soon-to-be dough and tensed up. Whatever the angel was thinking with doing that, it was working.

Squirming around a little uneasy he cracked the egg and cursed as some of the eggshell still managed to slip into the mass of ingredients. While he fished it out he turned his head just slightly towards where Aziraphale was, trying to sound as warning as he could while his knees were weak at the praises he got, that weren't even directed at him, or maybe not even for him to be heard.

"If I see even ONE flower on them again, Aziraphale-!"

"No flower on them could outshine you, my dear! You'd still be the most gorgeous thing in this house! You shouldn't feel threatened by them, it's all going to be ok", he called back and had to hide a chuckle at his small plan having been a success.

He gave the plants a few more hushed words of encouragement before he just had to see, how he effected Crowley with his words and slipped back into the kitchen, where he admired him and thought of new ways to get him to lose it.

This time Crowley did let the egg fall into the bowl and cursed as a cloud of flour got up his nose. Coughing and sneezing a few times he turned away from the bowl and frantically rubbed his face, as if that would stop the blush from creeping up; the tingly feeling shooting through his body making him even weaker that you'd fear, he'd topple over.

"If you actually want something to eat, you should stop", he grumbled as he carefully fished the egg out and cracked it, oblivious that Aziraphale had already returned to the kitchen.

Aziraphale though didn't regret a thing about coming back to see how his work had paid off. Alone the action of him not being able to crack an egg, thanks to his input, made it worth it. The fact that he was blushing a deep red made it even better.

"It's fine if you can't do it. I still have you as a replacement. You taste just as good."

The angel eyed him up and down before settling on watching him work as best he could.

"The presentation could use a little work though. Too much covering up the good stuff."

The demon perked up when he heard his angel speaking; a little flustered about him having heard what he haid said.

"Angel-"

Letting out a deep breath he glanced to where Azirphale stood and watched him with keen eyes. He felt overly exposed there, though he was completely covered. Swallowing hard he tried to concentrate on reading the book, which had been hard enough before and grew to be even harder now.

The angel noticed almost immediately how troubled Crowley looked and how he seemingly couldn't get past reading two words without having to backtrack. Walking up to the counter to stand beside him, he silently followed his lover's eyes to see what it was that troubled him so greatly.

"Do you need my assistance? I doubt it is only the recipe that is giving you a hard time. I'd gladly lend you a hand, if you tell me what you want me to do."

The demon tensed up a little nervous and chewed on his lip before he shook his head as an answer. "I got it."

He reached over past the angel to grab two vanilla pods and a large knife, hands shaking as he tried to cut them up lengthwise.

"I sure do hope so. I wouldn't want you hurting yourself."

The angel placed his hand on top of Crowley's to make him still while he was cutting. Making the demon twitchy and unable to focus was fun and all, but having him hurting himself wasn't. Besides, a little innocent touch could help to get his lover needier for more as well.

This again, had the opposite effect, than to still him. Crowley almost instantly slipped and cut his finger, cursing quietly as he watched the cut ever so slowly spilling a drop of blood.

"Aziraphale, this-"

"Oh dear. Even with me there to help, you still hurt yourself. You should concentrate more on what you are doing."

Aziraphale shook his head and let go of the hand holding the knife to take the hand with the small cut to examine it. The cut wasn't that bad, but the bleeding was still bothersome. Using a small miracle he at least made the bleeding stop and let him go afterwards.

"You are lucky to have me taking care of you. I don't want to imagine in what other ways you could get yourself hurt without me."

To his luck, Aziraphale didn't do anything dirty, though his tone of voice had indicated it. If he had done what had been in the demon's mind, he would have been in deep trouble. And that probably did show on his face more than he wanted it to.

Letting out the breath he had held he wordlessly reached for the knife again and cut up the other vanilla bean too before scraping the contents in the bowl. If he'd talk too, it could turn out troublesome. He really wanted to impress the angel on this, but if he'd open his mouth, there was sure to be unholy pleads coming from him.

The way Crowley held it together and only appeared to be falling apart as he got teased, impressed Aziraphale greatly already. 'He must be serious about it', the angel thought and cracked a smile at how sweet it was of his lover to not get distracted too much, to finish what he had started. He'd really have to reward him for it some time.

"Should I stop distracting you, my love? I really wouldn't want you getting hurt because of me."

"You could read the recipe out for me", Crowley only mumbled, face flushed enough that you could wonder if he didn't have a fever while he reached out to grab the milk and a whisk. The demon was deliberately avoiding to look at the angel, chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously.

That didn't sound like a 'no' to him. The dirty little thing must enjoy it more than he wanted to admit. He could work with that.

"Of course!"

Happily he took the cookbook and watched the demon doing his thing, until he needed his guidance on what to do next. Leaning up against the counter, his gaze shifted from the bowls and utensils to his lovers face in the hope of catching his reactions.

"Is there something you have planned for doing after this? The kid is busy and I have a lot of time to repay you. If there is a desire you have for something, you just have to tell me to get it for you."

Crowley flinched at the suggestive undertone and whimpered. He would have gladly sprung onto it with a: 'fuck me already if you're going down that route', but only voiced a forced: "Nothing in particular-"

When Crowley was satisfied with the creamy mixture in the bowl, he put the whisk away and took a deep breath, turning to Aziraphale. His eyes were pleading for him to stop, with a glint of willingness to submit behind them.

„Give me a plate?“

Aziraphale didn't bother moving and lazily snapped his finger to bring him the requested item. The glimmer of the mixed messages Crowley's eyes gave him, let him shut up for a moment.

On one side the demon utterly loved the way he spoke to him, but on the other ,he did his best holding it together and didn't want to mess up. For his sake he'd wait and see how Crowley would react to him stopping.

The demon wordlessly took the plate from his angel and spread the dough on the crêpe maker, careful that it was just the right amount. When he tried to flip it his hands were shaky enough that he messed it up slightly and the crepe ripped.

Cursing he nervously ran one hand through his hair and spread a bit of melted chocolate on it, carefully placing a few, mircaolously, washed and cut up strawberries on it before putting it all together a little messy.

When he put it on the plate he frowned since it didn't look as perfect as he had hoped it to and subconsciously sucked the excess chocolate of his fingers.

"Please keep talking-", he muttered against them without even realizing how much it sounded like a plead. He just didn‘t like the silence and if he was honest, he rather liked having to struggle a little.

"Hm? You want me to continue?"

Aziraphale got ripped out of the trance he put himself into while watching the demon move, and blinked a couple of times, to make sure he heard him right. If he asked for it that nicely, how could he deny such a request? He couldn't, obviously.

"What is it that you want to hear from me? There is a whole lot I could tell you right about now."

"What's on your mind", Crowley mumbled and walked past him to the fridge to get the ice cream out.

The kitchen by now smelled sweet like crêpes and chocolate. Returning to the plate he got a spoon and draped several pieces of ice cream around the crepe, taking the melted chocolate to drizzle it over. As much as he concentrated on what he was doing, half his concentration lay with the angel as he listened to him, picking up every little noise he gave off.

"I believe you mean in a way of what I think about doing to you, if I find the time for it? Where should I even start there...?"

He tapped his chin as if he had to think about it much. Really, he didn't have to. There were so, SO many things he could do with his lover right then and there, and he could tell that Crowley would go along with everything at this point.

"I could bend you over the counter and fuck you senseless to a point that you can't stand on your own anymore. I want to hear you begging for me until your voice is gone and you are so out of air, that you can only gasp for more. Like that thought or would you prefer something else, my dear?"

Okay, that wasn't what he had expected.

Crowley spilled chocolate on the counter and hissed in surprise at what the angel told him. Yes, it was obvious the angel hadn't had quite...holy thoughts, but this was something different. Fuck the whipped cream. He shouldn't have given in to ask the angel to keep talking.

His hands were shaky and his thoughts started drifitng off to imagining, in absolute detail, what the angel proposed to him. And it sounded good. He groaned as he felt blood rushing from his head to his abdomen.

Abort.

The demon smeared chocolate on his fingers some more in accident before he bit his lip and took the plate up with his clean hand.

"Fuck it-"

He exhaled deeply and buried his burning face in his chocolate covered hand, while he shoved the plate over to the angel half blind.

Clapping his hands together in absolute delight as the handmade crêpes got pushed over in his direction, he miracled himself cutlery. If the taste would only be half as good as the smell, he'd no doubt have to get Crowley baking for him more often.

Eyeing the blushing, and chocolate covered mess, up and down, he cut off a small piece of his food to taste it. Whatever he wanted to say as a comment, didn't make it out. Aziraphale had prepared to be pleased about the effort the demon put into it, but he hadn't prepared for it to actually be THIS good.

"My dear boy", he ate some more in silence before he started talking again, all the previous smugness in his voice wiped. "Did you use a miracle while baking?"

"What? No!"

Crowley slid the hand from his face in indignation and frantically wiped the chocolate away. It took quite something to get the angel to be out of it, so it did worry him and he slid closer, eyeing the crepe a little suspicious.

"Something wrong with it?"

He didn't see anything wrong with it. Except that it didn't look perfect. The ice-cream was melting into a puddle around the crepe and mixed with the excess chocolate dripping out and of it, which made it look a little like a sweet mess.

All previous arousal forgotten, he watched the angel shift and move a piece of the treat to his mouth, with a bit of fidgety uneasiness.

So no miracles whatsoever. In the state he got Crowley into with all the teasing, he doubted he had the ability to think up to use a miracle anyways. Also, with the effort he put into it, it was clear he had taken the harder way.

"No, nothing wrong at all. I really like it. I have no idea how often you did this before, but I am really impressed by how good you are."

Aziraphale cut off another piece and offered it to the other.

"Try some yourself."

The times were better left uncounted.

Crowley didn't really eat much himself, and most of it wasn't sweet, but if the angel insisted to. Leaning towards the angel he opened his mouth and made a noise that sounded a bit like 'alright' before he took the ice cream drenched fork into his mouth and plucked the dough covered strawberry off of it. No denying, it was a grand explosion of sweetness in his mouth.

He pulled the fork back and waited for a reaction from him for his own cooking. It wouldn't matter much if he himself hated it, Aziraphale was quite aware that Crowley rather went to grab drinks over food whenever he could. For his part, he'd enjoy the rest of his crêpes and not be bothered by anything too sweet or not sweet enough.

Crowley didn't give much of a reaction to it. It really wasn't his, but from time to time he would enjoy some devil cake, or an angel cake if he was sneaky and horny, so it wasn't that he didn't like it at all. It was good for a crêpe, he guessed. He hadn't eaten too many in his life. Even though he probably had had one or two too many stops at one with Aziraphale.

Shrugging he cursed himself that he had forgotten to put Cognac into the dough and made a mental note to do that next time. His expression softened though when he saw his lover nearly bouncing up and down with excitement.

"'S good", he muttered with just a bit of a self-pleased smile.

Distress it had brought him aside, that had mostly been Aziraphale's fault anyways, seems it had turned out well.

The angel gave him a hum in acknowledgment at the answer. At least sometimes he could make him appreciate something he did himself. After finishing up the rest of his food in silence and putting down the cutlery, he sighed happily.

"Thank you so much, my dear. I wouldn't have deemed it possible for you to surprise me after knowing you for such a long time, but I was clearly wrong about that thought."

A little ambarrassed Crowley rubbed the back of his neck and looked off to the side.

"It's nothing much."

Grumbling something incoherent he leaned in to Aziraphale once more to lick a bit of chocolate from his lips and to steal a quick kiss before he quickly turned away, into a snake, and slithered under the table in embarrassment. No matter what his angel was involved in, it would always be too much for the poor demon.

"Honey, your actions don't match what you are saying, I'm afraid."

He patiently waited for his lover to come back out on his own. It was funny to see how overwhelmed Crowley could get by him doing things such as compliment or thank him for all the things he did for him. Aziraphale gave him his time to calm down each time, he didn't want to break the poor boy by being nice to him.

It took Crowley a moment but he slowly slid out from under the table to curl up around one of the angel's legs.

"It'sssss nothing", he repeated and slipped into the pocket, letting only his head poke out.

With a flick of his tongue the kitchen was back to being spotless clean and he let out a hissed sigh.

"You're killing me, angel-"

He fished out the snake from his pocket to let him wrap himself around his arm, if he wanted to.

"I'm doing it only because you let me. You enjoy having me tease and praise you. You can't deny that."

Crowley wriggled around a little helpless when he was picked up until he could snatch onto Aziraphale's sleeve and tightly wrap around him, head placed lazily in his palm.

"You're jusssssst mean", the snake whimpered teasingly, but his tone indicated only agreement to what the angel had said.

"Nonsense. I'm only being nice to you and giving you what you want."

Aziraphale pet him before dropping his free hand in his lap.

"I know you crave it to have me teasing you. I've seen it myself how much it makes you squirm around in anticipation."

"Aaaah, it'sssss not like that", he hissed out a little overwhelmed and buried his head under the angels thumb.

He wasn't exactly denying it, though it might have sounded like it. He was more...trying not to say it out loud while his voice was dripping with silent agreement. And the angel knew that, it was clear on his face.

"Are you getting a kick out of making yourself look more innocent than you are, or is it another thing that turns you on? Liking it to push me to try harder to attempt to lose it?"

Such a bad liar. Not hard to see the act behind it when he helplessly hid himself like that to no avail. Kinda funny actually, the few things that kept him from going mad were to hide in obvious places and him avoiding Aziraphale all together.

"I'm not innocent, i'm a demon."

A standard response but Crowley quickly shot forward and sprung onto the angel's shoulders before he slithered up along his throat and into Aziraphale's hair.

"Why don't you try being a bit more of an assssshole next time", he hissed suggestively while he let the lower half of his body loosely wrapped around the angel's throat, the rest going up behind his ear to where he curled up slightly into the blond curls.

"A demon that takes care of his plants, has gone against hell, bows down to an angel‘s orders and has a child at home, who he loves to get in all kinds of trouble with to keep them happy. What a fearsome demon you are.“

He shifted around in his seat and let his eyes fall shut as he relaxed while Crowley got himself in a comfortable position.

"Would the big, bad demon really want his angel to show him how to put him in his place? Don't want to make you cry over it being too much."

"I won't cry."

The demon sounded almost insulted as he muttered that.

"If you're so sssscared we can set a ssssafeword. Would you feel better about that?"

He pulled the rest of his body up and curled up fully, nibbling on the curls before he rolled around a little to get himself even comfortable. Aziraphale's hair smelled of vanilla and flowers and was so very soft. Even better than sleeping on a pillow, way better even.

"I don't know. If you think you need a safeword, you can come up with one."

Peaking an eye open he shot a glance upwards to the curled up snake in his hair. A lot of times he had to remind himself that Crowley, in fact, was a fallen angel and not said it for the sake of it.

Aziraphale didn't doubt that god had a plan as to why he was meant to fall, maybe it had been for the purpose of stopping armageddon, but it still felt unfair to have let this poor thing go through so much pain for it.

"It sssounds more like you thssink I need one. But it's not like i'm assssking you to torture me."

"You were the one asking me to choke you. I suppose that doesn't count for you starting it."

“That wassssn‘t torture“, Crowley muttered a bit embarrassed before he thought about it for a moment and moved forward a little to dangle his head into the angel's face.

"How about thisss, i'll make up a sssafeword and handsssign. If I show or sssay that, you'll know it'll be too much. Regardlessss of if I actually will need it or not."

“Please, do that. Once you have one, you can show and tell me. I‘ll look out for it.“

Aziraphale stopped himself from going on about how he didn't want to hurt him in any way, and only acted on the requests of being rough. It could sound like he didn't really want to do this, which clearly wasn't the case.

Crowley only flicked his tongue before he retreated lazily, keeping quiet for a moment while the angel was thinking.

"Hey, angel?"

Aziraphale had kept quiet when he had started thinking more about, if the unholiness in Crowley had rubbed off on him to make him want to be more possessive, but reacted to still to the demon talking to him.

"Yes, my dear?"

The demon curled up tighter, making sure that his head was right in the middle of it, standing up straight, staying still as best he could. With a playful hiss he smiled and miracled a small little mirror on the counter so he could see the angel and himself.

"You've got a crown", he chuckled and stilled again so that Aziraphale could look at himself.

The angel couldn't help but smile at how his lover could go from saying he'd think about what to do to take some worries off of him when he'd get too rough during sex, to being silly. Either way, Aziraphale loved him deeply for his shenanigans.

"The best crown anyone could hope for", he said softly and eyed himself with the posing snake on his head.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

He shifted around a little and intertwined his body weirdly, curving and snaking it around until he was satisfied, head pressed closely to his body so he could barely move his jaw.

"How'sssss that?"

He waited unmoving for Crowley to finish twisting his body in the position he'd be satisfied with, keeping an eye on the process he made through the mirror.

"Still perfect"

A chuckle escaped the snake and he let loose, stretching as best he could before he slithered down and nudged the side of Aziraphale‘s face before he licked it teasingly.

"You're the king of my world anyway", he mumbled a bit uneasy. It was true, but made him distress horribly when he had to say it.

"Oh hush, you are too sweet for your own good."

He picked the demon up carefully to be able to look at him way better as he spoke. It was rare to have him saying something like that, but that made it all the more appreciated. Still, as much as he wanted to sit here and hear more, they had a responsibility waiting at home.

"Maybe we should start heading back to Polly, they must be wondering where we are“, he said and got up, preparing to leave.

"Oh, right."

Crowley would have loved to keep staying the way he was, but if they needed to go. With a bit of twirling and curling around the angel's arms he forced them closer together before he turned back into a human, barely hanging in Aziraphale's arms so he quickly wrapped one arm around his lover's shoulders and snapped to get them back.

Really, it was tiring enough to port the two of them to and fro the apartment, he didn't even want to think about how tiring France would have been – it probably would have killed him if he was honest.

Once they were standing back in the bookshop he elegantly hopped off the angel and tugged at the apron to get it off as well as the hairband.


	21. An Unexpected Call

After Crowley kindly ported them back to the bookshop, and after said demon had jumped out of his arms, Aziraphale straightened his clothes out of habit and reached for the demon's hand to pull him along. Good thing already was that there was neither anything burning, nor did it look like Polly had had the glorious idea to be a little bitch and cover everything in their goo out of boredom.

The small demon never had been particularly loud, only when Crowley seemed to be around to get them excited to cause mayhem. Just as he was about to knock on the door the small demon already opened it up and blankly looked at them. 

"Back already? Thought you'd be gone all night."

"Just for a few hours", Crowley smiled, not innocent, as he walked up from behind Aziraphale. "If even." 

He was wearing black silk pajamas, as always, and his hair was lazily combed back, ready to go to sleep. It was evening after all by now. Or late afternoon. Whatever. 

Sleep. Association: Nice.

"Mhm, glad at least someone had their fun today after having to deal with bitchy humans." 

Even if they wanted to get that smile off of him as soon as possible for leaving them alone here with doing the same bullshit they had been doing for years, they turned and got ready to close the door to be alone again. 

"Anything you actually want from me?" 

"Besides seeing if you were alright and still here, no, not really", Aziraphale answered truthfully.

"I'm fine, pissed but fine. Thank you very much for asking", Pollution said, annoyance clear in their voice. 

"I'll go and sleep. Do whatever you have to do, but at least let me sleep." 

With that they slammed the door shut to do exactly what they told them they'd do. Anything to not get more bored through the night.

Crowley couldn't have been prouder of himself that Pollution actually slept. Something they had, most definitely, picked up from him, since Aziraphale didn't sleep very often -basically never. Maybe they were ready to have a sleepover with the Them soon, when they were not grounded anymore. 

Shrugging it off he refrained from saying anything after them like the casual: 'sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite', and just stretched to drag the angel over to their bedroom. Not that Aziraphale would sleep, but Crowley didn't really feel safe going to sleep without him. Also it was just nice to curl up and go to sleep together and somehow, over the past month, it had become a habit.

Aziraphale never had thought Pollution would even considered sleeping at all. He didn't know, nor wanted to think about, what it was the demon did in the dead of night. At least that way he didn't have to worry about them causing trouble during the time no one would be there to stop them. 

Though it wouldn't be considered sleeping what Pollution did; they took power naps, is a way better way to describe it. The fear of sleeping in kept them awake, and so they only slept for some time before getting violently shaken up. They'd have to ask how to deal with it if they couldn't do it themselves, but they made progress. 

Thanks to that way of 'sleeping' they were always up before they needed to, today not being an exception. Today though, instead of getting up, they glared at the clock, turned around and continued to sleep.

\-----

Crowley was woken up by his own alarm clock. If he didn't set one, he wouldn't wake up on time. He was quite the heavy sleeper after all -else he wouldn't have been able to sleep through that noisy century. 

But when the noise grew to a rather aggressive beeping, the demon shifted around grumbling and tugged at Aziraphale's old-fashioned pajamas. He was sleepy drowsy, like every morning, and reared up, pushing his face into the mattress, stretching that way -he had weird ways of stretching. 

"Aznphl-", he grumbled into it, groaning and letting himself fall back flat on his face.

As a reaction to the groaning and shifting around Aziraphale shot the alarm clock a look to make it shut up.  
"You know, you wouldn't need that thing if you wouldn't sleep in the first place.“ 

The first time that thing had went off, he had almost thrown it out of the window and cursed Crowley for bringing such a horrid device into his house, but he had managed to live with it, for Crowley's sake. In a way to help him get up he ran his hand through his hair to lull him in before letting him go to get up, hoping he'd follow.

"Noooooo, sleep ish niccssse." 

It worked well enough. Crowley whimpered when the hand left him and groggily pushed himself up to follow the angel, walking crouched and grabbing the angel's hand to push it back into his bed hair as he yawned. 

It was just about an hour left before Crowley had to drive the young demon to school. Enough time for their usual family breakfast, helping Pollution pack their stuff and getting them in the car and to school. One thing the young demon definitely had taken up from Aziraphale, was their love for food. 

They liked having lunchboxes and eating their morning cereal or bread and, they had dreally taken a liking to Aziraphale's 'calming' miug of cocoa, consisting of hot chocolate, whipped cream, marshmallows and a shot of vanilla syrup. Aziraphale would sometimes put Licor 43 in it, claimed it was the alcoholic alternative to vanilla syrup, but since it was alcoholic, the small demon of course wouldn't get it. 

Crowley would always drink his coffee or black tea, without sugar obviously. He needed caffeine to get himself worked up for the day, especially after sleeping.

"No matter how nice you think it is, I won't allow you wasting the whole day, or week, by letting you sleep." 

If it made the demon stop whining and prevent him from laying back down, he did almost everything. If it was giving him a few head pats what he wanted, he got it. 

At times Aziraphale got the feeling he might be spoiling Crowley a few too many times, he should really make the demon work more for it. Pulling his hand back to himself he pushed him towards Pollution's room. 

"I'll take care of breakfast for today, you take care of Polly."

"Why me?", he called after Aziraphale, but the angel was already gone. Grumbling Crowley knocked on the door and opened it after there was no answer. 

"Hey, sleepyhead, wake up. You've got school, I don't need another bloody meet up with that shithead of a headmaster." 

He leaned against the doorframe qand crossed his arms in front of his chest before he yawned once more, looking at the bundled up demon under the soft blanket.

"Fuck off, I'm not going there. I'd much rather spend my day here and hope that that bitch falls down the stairs to break her neck", came the grumbled answers from under the sheets. 

That idea sounded not half bad. If that woman would accidentally break her neck and die, or to the very least make her not able to show up at that cursed place anymore, Polly would have one less reason to have destruction on the mind.

"And i'm not going to discuss this with you", Crowley snapped back before his tone softened ever so slightly. 

„I want her gone too, alright? No one's saying that she's nice or anything, but you have to go. Breakfast should be ready by now anyway." 

A little teasing he walked closer to them and poked the shilouette under the blanket. 

"You're grounded, but i might get a cocoa out of Aziraphale if you stand up now."

"Promise me I'll get some, and I'll promise to not cause anyone any sort of harm." 

Polly peeked out from under the sheets at the mention of something sweet. Under any normal circumstances, the young demon wouldn't have been satisfied with such a small offering, but those weren't any normal circumstances, and they were in need of something sweet so they could deal with humanity.

"Yeah, yeah. Now, hup!" 

Crowley quickly pulled the sheets from them and stuck out his tongue playfully before he let it fall back beside them and walked out. 

Giving off a groan as an answer Pollution pulled themselves out of bed to get themselves ready.

"I'll tell Aziraphale to make one. Without any of the special toppings in it though. You're grounded."

With a quick miracle he changed his clothes to something nicer and stretched before he walked towards his angel. 

"I promised them a hot chocolate, make one for me?" 

He snaked around him and took a cup out of the cupboard.

The angel had changed into his usual clothes while being alone; he might not sleep, but he did change into lighter clothes during the night. When Crowley came over after not taking nearly as long as he had suspected to get Pollution to get a move on without yelling at them, he didn't question it, that apparently all he needed was a small bribe to make them hurry. 

"Is that all?", he grabbed some milk, cocoa powder and a small pot. 

"I'm glad you got to them this easily. Could it be a solution to make them behave for the rest of the day though? I doubt they'd be happy with just that. "

"I don't know. It's not me who's supposed to make them do good." 

He accentuated the good and walked over to the coffee machine to get himself an espresso. 

"You are making them do good on multiple occasions and not only them, mind you", Aziraphale pointed out, back turned to him. 

It had been like that for a long, long time and he knew it had majorly god to blame for this. Only because he had to fall he kept telling himself he was neither good nor nice nor that it could be changed, since he was a demon. Gladly he'd switch with him, let him be happy and not feel pressured to be only evil. Some thing would never change, he supposed.

The demon didn't answer to what Aziraphale added. He wanted to, but also he didn't.

"They were talking about not going to school and killing that cunt. But they better keep it down. It's just a bother if they don't." 

Sipping at his coffee he grimaced and stuck out his tongue when he burnt it, cursing quietly while he sat down at the table.

Shaking his head he reached to grab two mugs to fill them with hot chocolate and put them on the table in time as Polly came to join them.

It helped him out of the dilemma of awkward silence when Pollution appeared. He had been biting his lip in thought but now concentrated back on his coffee while he watched the two. 

"Got your bag packed?"

"I'm over 500 years old, I think I can remember doing that without having to be reminded of it."

Polly pulled the chair back and dropped their bag on the floor next to it. They grabbed their mug with both hands and blew to get the boiling hot liquid to cool down and only then sat down. Aziraphale took his seat next to Crowley and silently waited for his own drink to cool down, switching glances between the two.

Crowley put his hands up in defence and licked the milk foam beard off his upper lip. 

"Just saying." 

He took another sip and watched the smaller demon eat a toast with marmelade on it, the angel doing the same. Sweet tooth, both of them. 

"Got your homework?"

Stopping mid action of reaching for their cup again, Pollution averted their eyes from their breakfast to give their attention to the taller demon. 

"Take a guess." 

Taking a huge bite out of their toast, they rolled their eyes and turned so the demon could keep an eye on the clock. Opening their mouth as if they wanted to start complaining, Aziraphale stopped them with a warning look. It had only been morning, he didn't need the kid to start a ruckus already.

"Complain when you get home later. Until then I don't want to hear anything negative coming from you." 

That seemed to have angered the demon further. They had promised to be nice and all, but that time in which they had been left alone the past day, had turned the idea of smiling happily to hide their annoyance completely around. The bitch was going to get it.

Sighing Crowley laid back in his seat and shifted closer to the angel, having a close eye on the child. They were tense, which was always a bad sign, though not tense in a depressive way, as he knew it from himself, but tense in an angry way. 

Oh this was gonna be a fun day. They had seemed tame enough just the past day, but they seemed rather riled up now. 

Quickly he stood up and snapped his fingers to miracle a comb into his hand. He leaned against the counter while he carefully combed his hair, making sure no strand was left uncared for. 

Normally they would be chattering a bit. Aziraphale would be overexcited for the day, Pollution would take up on that and do some stupid jokes before collecting their stuff and occasionally, Crowley would throw something into the conversation as well. But now it was more an awkward silence. 

When he looked at his wristwatch he put the comb aside and walked over to Aziraphale, putting one hand on his shoulder while he looked at Pollution. 

"We've got about twenty minutes left. Go brush your teeth, make sure you've got everything and then get in the car."

The silence could have continued going on like that, for all the small demon cared for. It felt awkward to the two and Polly loved it. Oh how much they loved to feel the distress. It almost made them feel like they were the powerful one here. 

That feeling vanished like it had never been there to begin with, when Crowley had to open his mouth to ruin it for them. Sending a glare over at him they wordlessly got up and grabbed their bag before heading to leave the kitchen. 

"I'll wait outside for you. Take your time 'cause I don't want to fucking leave in the first place. Just doing this for you, hope you are happy." 

The angel watched them leave before he shook his head at the behavior and turned to Crowley with an apologetic smile. Lucky for him he didn't have to get them to school, or care for them too much that day. He loved to spend time with the usually calm and quiet demon, but it really wasn't going to be that way until they had gotten to blow off some steam. 

"Let's hope it stays at them being a little feisty today", he said as he got to his feet to start cleaning up after their breakfast.

The demon muttered silent curses under his breath but shook his head at the way he was looked at. The angel was the one who least had to apologize for anything, if even. 

"Let's just hope they won't wreak the school." 

It didn't feel right if Aziraphale looked at him like that, though it in no way felt bad mind you, just strange, out of place. He wasn't even apologizing for anything, just giving him that look. Stupid that Crowley's mind even rambled on about it. 

"Are we having the bookshop open today?" 

While talking he had already walked away to get his keys out of his coat, which he had started hanging onto the hat stand that stood rather near to the entrance of the shop. 

The keys dangled from his fingers as he let it rock back and forth, the keychain he had gotten from Pollution on it and sparkling bright like it had never seen dirt before. Which it really hadn't. Crowley, for his life, wouldn't have let that present go dirty or break.

Without having to ponder over it like Aziraphale usually liked to do, he immediately gave him his answer: "I doubt it. I need all the energy I have to prepare myself to have an even angrier little demon coming home. If I had to deal with 'customers' as well, there wouldn't be a way it would end well for anyone." 

It could be an easy day to have people come in, look around and leave without wanting to buy anything, but more often there would be people causing a scene and demanding to buy something from his collection. Those people could be quite the handful, and while dealing with Pollution, he didn't need the stress outsiders caused. 

"We'll see what we can do today, or what I can do depending on if you would be busy today."

"Me? Busy?" 

The demon let out an amused snort before he caught the keys in his palm. "I'm free all day."

Especially if they didn't open shop. Crowley frowned in his mind, after all he loved his little 'job', but he understood why Aziraphale didn't want to. For the angel it could become quite stressful, while the demon just did some funny little pranks and tricks on the customers. 

"Except for now, of course. We really ought to buy a bike for them. That way they can cicle of their stress when going to school." 

He shrugged and pushed himself off the wall before turning to the door, staring over at the staircase to see if Pollution would come down the intended way, or slip out of a window again or something. Looking at his watch he decided to not wait for much longer and gave his lover a keen look. 

If he wouldn't be as shy as he was, he would do it like in those movies he watched. Hug him and pull him into a kiss and then leave for work. He especially liked that in older movies. Had to admit he rather felt with the, normally, woman being kissed. Clearing his mind of that he opened the door to walk outside. 

Pollution sat on the sidewalk and stopped throwing small rocks at cars that drove by when they heard the door opening behind them. 

"Could have taken your time longer, really. No need for you to hurry to get me away from you." 

The young demon rose to their feet and dropped the stone they still held carelessly on the ground next to them. It helped them to cool off a little bit to do some property damage, enough for them to only look mildly annoyed, but that could change within mere seconds again.

Crowley sighed and opened the car and boot so they could put it out of their way while he walked towards them, brushing one hand on their shoulder as a sign to get in. 

"If we don't drive now, we'll be late." 

It was more said to deny their saying that they wanted to get rid of them, which they would never. No matter how annoying and bothersome, they were their child, officially adopted actually. Yes, in the beginning Crowley had wanted to push them away, no denying. But he would never now. And he voiced that if needed. 

"Of course, we could always go faster, but there's just something enjoyable to 90mph." 

Sitting down in the driver seat he adjusted the seat that he could sit comfortably and lean back slightly. The leather was nice and soft, as usual, and he looked at them through the driving mirror to have a close look at the child while he waited for them to fasten the seatbelt. 

"Any music wishes, princette?"

"Nah, don't need music. All I want is to get all this over with. I really hope I won't be stuck in this body forever, because I don't think I could handle being trapped as an eleven year old until the actual war." 

Pollution met his eyes in the mirror, sort off, and gave him a very faint smile at the way he addressed them. Deep down the young demon knew they couldn't be mad at their parents for long. It still was hard for Pollution to believe that those two, who had been declared as part of 'the enemy', had swept in to raise them as a human child, with some lectures about demonic and angelic miracles sprinkled into the mix. 

They had no memory of ever being an angel. Probably had been at some point, but there was nothing in their mind that could indicate it. The earliest memory that came up was Pestilence handing their job over to them. 

They didn't even have wings, none they knew of at least. Laying back in their seat Polly gave their attention to the people walking outside, best not think about it too much.

"You'll grow up eventually. It's just for the start, i'm pretty sure the more you recover, the more you will grow. Get ready for puberty, nesser." 

Once he was satisfied he looked at the street and stepped on the gas, one hand on the steering wheel, the other looking through the cd's until he found what he was looking for. With a successful grin he pulled out a black cd, the cover declared it as 'cinematic music with an edge', and popped it into the radio. 

Wasn't really his type of music, though he did enjoy listening to calmer music like vaporwave or lofi hip hop, just like the child did, sometimes they did at least, just that he especially liked it when he was high. The flashing colours…

He shook his head to rid himself of that thought and turned to the street leading directly to the school. Since Polly liked that music, he put it on sometimes to cheer them up, or when they were especially happy anyway. It wasn't like he disliked that music. It just wasn't his usual style. If it made them happy, that was fine with him.

Once the music started playing they risked a glance over at the radio before continuing to stalk people outside. Damn him for doing his best to lighten their mood, and damn him for getting through to them with it. 

"Thanks for the heads up. I'm sure you will have a lovely time with me trying to figure out what the fuck this human body is doing to me." 

Pollution added a more silent: 'and thanks for the music'. Like that they almost felt spoiled since they were forbidden to have literally anything that was fun just the previous day.

"Oh, i'll have a lovely time grounding the hell outta you", he said with a grin. 

They even thanked him, a good sign, and unusual. Very unusual. But it seemed to him, that Aziraphale's influence had paid of. And it was nice to hear. They had lost a lot of their previous bitchyness over the course of the month, had even taken up to being 'good', just once in a while, but nonetheless. 

Crowley tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and watched the school come into sight, parking lot filled with cars already and teachers as well as students small as ants, it looked like from afar, running around in the schoolbuilding like bees in a beehive. 

Too much of a hassle for Crowley. Reminded him too much of hell. He didn't like school, really didn't. Though University seemed fine. He felt proud already just thinking of Polly graduating and going into university or for a job. 

"Alright, we're there. Now get out there and don't cause a ruckus. No violence, no bullying, no obvious miracles, all right?" 

He turned around enough to give them a warning look, pointing one finger at them to make clear he wasn't joking.

They both had the same thought about that place: It sucked. If it wouldn't give them great examples on human behavior, and if the Them wouldn't be there, Pollution would have had that place removed within seconds. 

The demon had promised to keep their hands away from destruction though, unless it were small things or something no one would miss. 

"Yeah yeah, I know. No getting into trouble, no miracles, no killing or hurting, I got it. I can remember that." 

Dismissively the demon rolled their eyes and scanned the crowd to attempt to spot their friends. When they did Polly grabbed their stuff and almost kicked the door open as they stumbled out to catch up to them. 

Before Pollution disappeared, they turned to the other demon to give him a cheeky smile and a: "I'll show you how much of a bitch I can be later. Hope you like headaches because I'll make sure you won't get away without one", and only then ran off.

The older demon flinched at the rough abuse of his car and watched them with a frown. They even were too quickly gone for him to even respond, only Pepper shot him a look before she also ran after the others and the heavy doors closed behind them. 

Putting on Nirvana's 'Nothing else matters' he hummed to the instrumental opening of that old classic and started fervently singing the lyrics while he drove home. Whatever that had meant Pollution had indicated, it was nothing to worry about just yet, he'd have enough time to worry about that when they were home. 

The most worrying thing was only, it was Friday. Last day of school for the week. If he was unlucky, and they'd be in a bad mood coming home, they'd have them on their asses for the whole weekend. 

Shaking his head at that he drummed his fingers on the wheel and cut off someone's way without even noticing. Quicker than he had driven the child to school, he was back at home, entering the shop to almost immediately search for his angel.


	22. Drive Towards Holiday

Aziraphale didn't need to look up or hear an announcement to know that his lover returned to him. Even if the bookshop would be open, he could sense his presences out by now. Setting down the stack of books he had begun rearranging in the back of the shop, he patted some dust off of his clothes and walked up to the demon to greet him. 

"You hurried up quite a bit today, I hope you hurt no one. Especially not yourself or the kid." 

The angel put the worry out of the way first before smiling brightly at him. 

"I'm glad you returned to me this quickly, my dear. I reckon you couldn't handle their attitude well this morning?"

Crowley shrugged, already feeling washed from worries just seeing his lover and feeling the happiness and love radiating off of him. 

"They were just being a little fankid about music. Seemed cheerful enough", 'for now', he added. 

He put the car keys in his pocket and snaked around the angel to hug his waist while he listened to him. Being close to his lover was still the best, and he still needed it much, because this all still felt surreal quite some times, like a dream. 

"Did you wait for me or something?"

Acknowledging the positive change in Pollution's mood Crowley mentioned with a quiet hum, Aziraphale placed his hand on the demon's cheek. 

"You didn't leave me the option to wait for you or not. You were gone and immediately back, like always."

He slowly went from holding him to tracing his jawline. 

"I can't await your return whenever you leave, and I am happy to see you coming home each time."

If there had been nothing to do the angel would have sat down and shuffled through some old stacks of papers until Crowley returned, but that he didn't need to know. It should be obvious that he loved seeing the other just as much as he loved seeing him.

Crowley purred and moved into the angel's hand with his eyes closed before he mumbled an answer. 

"You could have kissed me goodbye."

"I could have, so could have you." 

Aziraphale turned his head to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

"I hope a 'welcome back' kiss works too."

"I can't just kiss you", Crowley mumbled a little helpless as he quickly slid away from the angel.

"Gimme a right welcome back kiss?" 

He pointed to his lips and gave him a begging look, already weakening again at the little flirting.

"For the future you have my permission to kiss me whenever you want to. Sounds good?" 

He left him no time to answer before he cupped both his cheeks and kissed him lightly on the lips, making sure it would stay at kissing.

The demon couldn't do much but mutter something helplessly into the kiss. It was just maddening how Aziraphale planned out every single action of his. The kiss too. He actively made sure to be as chaste as possible, which wasn't a bad thing in itself, but for Crowley, it was torture sometimes.

Maybe not as bad this moment, but often enough, it was horrid, and Aziraphale knew excactly what he was doing to him that way. When the angel pulled back Crowley licked his lips and looked flustered as he stared aside his lover to not melt down. 

"Isn't there that book you told me about, which is supposed to be so great?" 

He took a deep breath and pushed his hands in his pockets, aimlessly playing with his car key a little. 

"Read it out for me?"

The angel beamed. If he wanted to read to his lover? Of course he did, a stupid question. 

"I'd be delighted to do that! How about I'll make us some tea and we can lay down upstairs?" 

Oh and it really had been delightful. The time he could use to cuddle up with the demon, drink tea and have nothing but a calm morning. All too soon the peaceful silence had been over once Crowley had driven back to school to pick up the child. 

When they had returned home, boy, they were furious. That bitch of a principal had had the audacity to pull them aside and scold them for the duration of an entire lesson and once the bell rang, god, scold again for giving her so much to complain about, that they had to skip that class, all while getting told what a 'lady' should act like, and that 'she' wasn't fitting that image. 

The demon hadn't shown their eyes much, they sort of had picked up on putting on sunglasses when they got too messed up and couldn't control their eyes from becoming pitch black. Probably a good thing.

Once in the familiar they grabbed a pillow and screamed their lungs out into it while tearing at the soft casing, hoping it would provide some relief of the anger they felt towards old bitches like that woman.

The drive home alone had been tense. Pollution had been wearing sunglasses so he couldn't see their eyes, but they had been sitting lumped up, hands clenched into the leather and biting their lip. Crowley'd already feared the worst then; he was sure he didn't even want to know what had happened. 

When they then almost immediately ran off into their room and he could hear muffled shouting, he grimaced and gave Aziraphale a worried look. He was a little...overwhelmed by this, so to say. He didn't know if he should go up there and talk to them, or wait until they had calmed enough, or just ignore them all in all. 

"Angel...?" The demon had been aimlessly standing in the corridor, staring to the ceiling and back to his lover undeciding.

It wasn't just overwhelming for Crowley, Aziraphale didn't quite know how to address this problem either. Dealing with someone who had the power to sink an oil tanker by looking at it, or contaminating a whole area with toxic waste with a tap of their fingers on a small display, wasn't the easiest thing. 

Well, he doubted they'd do that but you could never know. 

"Leave them be until they calmed down a little-" 

He winced when from upstairs the sound of things being thrown around came and was promptly followed by more yelling. The kid really needed to get this all out of them, otherwise they'd probably end up getting all the rage projected over onto them. The angel only hoped that Pollution wouldn't end up hurting themselves or anyone that yelled for them to shut up.

Good thing Crowley had taken their electronics, that way the tv couldn't shatter. Though he did fear a little for Pestilence, their pet rat. They loved it but in their rage...he feared they would accidentally shatter the terrarium and squish it. 

"How long do you think this will take?" 

He bet, hoping, on an hour. By that time their room was possibly horrid to look at, but hopefully only their room. He jumped when he heard something actually shattering and shifter closer to his lover.

"Hopefully not too long. No one will be happy about it if they are going to be full of rage the whole weekend." 

Aziraphale moved in closer to Crowley upon seeing him shifting into his direction and took his hand, squeezing it gently. There was no real way he could tell him to not worry too much about it, when he himself didn't like what he got to hear. 

For a long time the sound of yells and stuff getting thrown around held on but slowly the yelling got less frequent and the low thumps of something hitting the walls on floor stopped, when there had been nothing left they could throw that wasn't all too important. Even if that had stopped for now they were still very close to crossing the line to start all over again.

The silence wasn't long, though not disrupted by the kid but by Liszt, playing loudly as the phone rang. Crowley, who had been sitting on the couch together with his lover by now, head in his lap while he enjoyed the angel's hands running through his hair, opened his eyes back up when he heard the music playing and gave the angel a questioning look.

Equally as confused about who could be calling now, the angel waited for Crowley to sit up before he got up to answer the phone. 

"Good afternoon!", he said cheerfully and turned to face his lover as he spoke. "How can I help you?"

"Ooooh, if it isn't Mr. Angel!", the voice hummed back equally as cheerful. With a suggestive tone she added: "I was betting Mr. Demon would answer." 

"Madame Tracy? If you wanted to talk to Crowley I could get him for you." 

He hadn't been too sure how to react to how her voice changing but went back to being calm, when she went back to simply being happy.

"Oh~" 

The older woman made a knowing, and positively surprised, sound before she turned away from the phone, though not covering the speaker, to yell something over to Shadwell, whose hearing hadn't become quite better. 

"I told you, honeybuns! I knew it!" 

Then she returned to the phone. 

"No, no. If Mr. Crowley is sitting around here somewhere with you", it sounded like she wriggled her eyebrows. "I wouldn't want to disturb him too. I hope I didn't catch you at a wrong time?"

„Dear, no, you haven‘t.“

Tone back to cheerful she continued her chatter once satisfied with the answer. 

"It's been so long since we've talked! But lovely Newt has informed us you have a child? Oh I just had to call. I knew you wouldn't have called me to inform me about it, so aunty herself took that up!"

"It really has been some time since we last spoke to each other." 

Ah, so that's why she was calling. She wanted to know more about the small demon. 

"He informed you correctly. They are a sweet child really and well, I'm afraid I was quite busy so I couldn't find the time to call first. My apologizes for that."

She hummed in acknowledgement at the apology and shuffled around a little. 

"Well, at least you see your fault here. Oh lovely, you just have to tell me more about them! I heard they are a demon too? Are they as much trouble as Mr. Crowley is sometimes? I heard he can be quite the handful." 

She chuckled before continuing. 

"Though of course not a handful in your handling. Oh but i'm rambling on. Are they a sweet treat? Do they have a sweet tooth? Oh and what about their hobbies? Do you think they would enjoy pampering a few flowers with aunty? Oh I would enjoy it, quite much!"

Madame Tracy was a nice woman with an...interesting job. Of course she would refer to some things in a more sexual way, and it really had been a shame he had picked up the phone, since he would have loved seeing Crowley getting so flustered that he'd silently hand over the phone. 

There could always be a next time. 

"They are a demon and honestly harder to handle than Crowley. After all, they are a child and I have spent years with Crowley to kind of know how to deal with him." 

That was a lie, he had no idea how to deal with the demon, all he knew was that he kept coming back to him no matter what. Tracy didn't need to know that. 

"If they aren't in a bad mood they are really nice, can be affectionate from time to time too. With sweets you could almost make them do anything you want buuutttt getting them close to plants, I'm not too sure if that's a good idea. You'd have to try it out with them, they would voice it if they don't want something."

"Oh, that sounds delightful. I make the best cinnamon buns, my pride." 

She half covered the speaker this time but her shrill voice still carried through. 

"Why yes snugglybuns, I will make them soon again!" 

A short pause was before she continued. 

"Oh, no, no. Oh please Shadwell darling, don't be such a stick in the mud. I'm not flirting with anyone here!" 

Then she turned to the speaker again and Aziraphale could clearly hear her huffing. 

"Oh anyway, I believe they will find quite some joy in my garden. We have the most delightful flowers and a little pond too. Got some frogs croaking, Shadwell's complaining about them now all night." 

She giggled. 

"You two really must come visit us! You haven't once since we moved. Oh and you haven't either when we hadn't moved. It doesn't count when you were inhabiting my body. Oh but do take the child with you. I would love to meet them, such a lovely young, bright thing. I imagine they must be! How does this weekend sound for you? We've got all so much free time now after all since my dear has left the witchfinder army's work alone, partly at least", she added a whispered: 'rather glad about that If I am honest with you my love', before going on. 

"And I have retired from my reading and relaxation sessions. I knew Shadwell didn't approve of them. Now I have time, quite some even. Especially in this little cottage. A lovely cottage."

"This weekend? I'm not too sure if that would be a good idea. You see, the poor thing isn't having the best of time right about now and I really, REALLY don't want you to have to deal with a moody demon." 

Although... It would give them all an opportunity to get out of their usual routine and Pollution could let their anger out somewhere far away from neighbors coming to complain about the noise. As he thought about it the small demon dragged themselves to them, knuckles covered in dried black fluids, unclear if it was blood or part of the oil that dripped out of their mouth and got smeared on their cheeks. 

Crowley hadn't moved much but rest his head on his lover's shoulder while he waited, up until where Pollution came down that is. He gave them a look, noticed the stains, but didn't clean them up, only shifted around enough that they'd have space on the couch too if they wanted to sit there.

The pale blue of their eyes shimmered through, a good indicator that they wouldn't lash out at them any second. If they were calm enough... 

"Oh, you know what? It sounds like a lovely idea! I'm sure they'd love it there!"

"Perfect!" 

Rustling of paper came through the speaker before she continued. 

"A bit of good ol' country air will help anyone feel better. I assure you. And I know my way with massages." 

Rustling, mumbling of Shadwell in the background. 

"No not those ones love! Anyway, dear, I assure you. Once you leave again, they'll be right as rain. Oh, and you of course too. I hope Mr. Crowley will accompany you?" 

"We'll all be coming over. I'm sure we all need a break from here for a little while." 

Pollution looked a bit uncertain about taking the offered seat, but after a good few moments of overthinking stalked over to his side and sat down, back turned to Crowley so they could lean on him without smearing everything on them onto him as well. 

Aziraphale eyed them for a bit before turning back to look around the room while speaking to Tracy.

"But please tell us if things would be too much to handle for you. We wouldn't want to give you a stressful time while we are around." 

If the demon would continue being somewhat calm, or would calm down further around the nice lady that already saw herself as their aunt, he wouldn't see a problem with handing them over to her for the time they'd spend at her place. Would also be an opportunity to be alone with Crowley without worrying too much.

"That settles it then! When are you thinking about coming over? Today or tomorrow? Don't make it too late though, Shadwell and I need our beauty sleep. We're not the youngest anymore." 

If he would have seen the older woman now, he could have been sure that she winked at him. 

"We'll have to see when we'd come by, but we'll make sure not to come too late or too early."

"Good, good. Do you have pen and paper with you? I'll give you the address right away."

He looked left and right to see if he got a piece of paper nearby but ended up getting the needed items with a wave of his hand and shifted the phone into his other hand. "I sure do."

Tracy gave him all directions in detail before she hummed in delight, probably twirling around right about now in a hurry to get the house as presentable as she could for when they'd come. 

"Dear! Can you fetch the big cookie box? Yes! Thank you bun!" 

For a moment it seemed like she had fogotten about still being in a call, but after a bit of rustling around, and a kissing noise, she turned back to the speakers. 

"I'm excited to see you three. And I promise, this time Shadwell will not wave his magic finger around."

She quieted down a little and giggled. 

"I managed to get that idea out of his head. It was rather troublesome. Anyway, I'll see you soon! Bring a change of clothes and a bit of money. We'll provide you with food and a place to sleep. Little Polly will of course sleep in their own room, or with us if they wish to. I wouldn't want to disturb you two." 

Aziraphale scribbled down the address and some extra instructions he was given before shoving the piece of paper aside. He listened to her chattering to Shadwell with a faint smile and absentmindedly snuggled up to Crowley. 

"Polly could stay with us, if it would be too much of a trouble for you to give them an extra room. We wouldn't mind to keep them with us, but let's discuss that once we are there, alright? You don't need to do anything special for us, but it is highly appreciated. We'll be seeing each other soon."

"Why yes, of course. All must be a little sudden for you, I'm just a tad too hotheaded sometimes. A good day to you then, Aziraphale, and say hi to Mr. Crowley and sweet little Polly for me, will you? Au revoir, a good day!"

With that she hung up. Crowley gave the angel a questioning look once the phone was placed aside. He had heard what he had said, but not Tracy, so he couldn't quite piece it together yet. 

"What did she want?"

"She would love to meet Polly and asked if we would be coming over to stay at their cottage this weekend." 

The angel picked up the piece of paper with the address and handed it over to Crowley. He'd have to be the one driving anyways so he needed it more than him. Pollution, who hadn't cared too much about what was happening before and much rather cuddled up into Crowley's side, perked up at the mention of someone willingly wanting to be with them for longer than an hour. 

"This woman is aware who I am, right? Why would she want to get to know me? Most people would be happy to be as far away from me as possible."

Crowley nodded at first as response to Aziraphale, looked at the paper, frowned and shoved it in his pocket. But when the small demon opened their mouth he raised an eyebrow at them and flicked their forehead. 

"Wrong attitude to life. Enough people want to see you, regardless of you being a demon." 

"Not what I've been told.“

„Adam and the Them and us and Anathema and a few other kids at your school are no one then.“

Pollution shut up at that and looked to the side.

Crowley snuggled up into Aziraphale and wrapped his hands around Pollution to pull them closer as well, in a kind of family hug, though loosely enough that if they didn't want it, they could pull away from it. 

He wouldn't want to pressure them into it if they didn't feel like it, knew himself that he could be shy of touches if he felt horrible, sometimes even Aziraphale's, though that was, and had become, quite rare. 

The small demon didn't fight it to be held, leaned up into it even. Since they had met Crowley a few weeks back and found it comforting to have him close, Pollution didn't feel threatened by him. They kept their distance solely because they didn't want to appear to be too demanding. 

"You remember that crazy woman with the funky red hair and the giant gun that tried to kill Adam? That's Tracy. She knows all about heaven and hell, mostly due to your dad here", he shot Aziraphale a sharp glare. 

"Inhabiting her body after getting discorporated. She got together with a witchfinder, speaks for itself. She's used to supernaturals by now, took a liking to your dad too when they shared one body." 

The judgment in Crowley's eyes didn't faze him, it had had a purpose for him to go and share the body with her. Not his fault if the demon would be unhappy with it. 

"I would have taken your body, but I couldn't have bared to live with myself if I would have caused you harm with it." 

Aziraphale shifted Crowley in his arms so he could put his hand on Polly's back to give them some affection too.

"And you know exactly I would have sacrificed myself for you, if you had just asked it." 

The demon gave him a bit of a forlorn look. He loved how the angel looked out for him, but he rather he hadn't gotten himself discorporated at all, would have relied on him more at least.

"Oh hush. I could never ask you to get yourself in danger for my sake. It happens one way or another anyways, and too often for my liking." 

He pinched his side before leaving light kisses on his neck. The idea of Crowley not caring about his own well-being to help him was sweet, but also something he really didn't enjoy much.

The demon whimpered at the soft words and kisses, refraining from keeping the discussion going to rather concentrate back on the actual subject. 

Aziraphale was right after all, as always. So Crowley turned his head back to Pollution to finally conclude to what he had been building up to say.

“Anyway, believe me. She couldn't care less about you being demon royalty.“

“Mhm, if that woman really wishes to meet me, she can. Hopefully she won't be freaking out over me."

“She won‘t, dear. She sounded overexcited already over the speaker alone“, the angel threw in now to reassure the child.

Nodding the older demon turned his head to look into his lover's face once more, this time without a judging glare though.

"Must have found out about Polly through book girl's boyfriend. When are we going?" 

"Mr. Pulsifer told her, yes, quite obvious really. But that doesn't matter. She suggested we should come by either today or if that is too sudden, we could be there tomorrow."

Turning to the child he nudged them to get their attention back. "When do you wanna go?"

Polly lifted their head to look at them before closing their eyes and shrugging. 

"I have nothing to do. We can go whenever you got time for it."

When Pollution didn't have an opinion on it Crowley shot a pleading look to the angel. He didn't want to be the one having to decide on it if neither of them would care when to go. 

"Angel?"

"If neither one of us has plans, how about we go today? No point in sitting around and doing nothing, right?", the angel gave him as his answer and pulled away from the demons. 

Making up a plan on leaving and staying on the couch together didn't quite mix well, and if neither really wanted to make a move first, he'd be the one to do it. 

The small demon groaned as the hand on their back left them and peaked an eye open. They had just found comfort in laying next to the two. There would be more opportunities for them enjoy their company for some time in the future though. 

So they hoped. 

Pushing themselves up Pollution wiped some of the dirt of their face before jumping up. "Seems fine. Better not keep the woman waiting."

Crowley nodded and stayed on the couch, though it was unsatisfying alone. But he had more space that way. 

"Pack your things then. We won't help you clean up that mess though." 

He wouldn't yet expect them to clean it, not if they were still as unstable, that would come once they were home. He himself didn't need to pack. Whatever he needed he'd miracle, not that he actually needed much. A comb, a toothbrush and his angel. Nothing to bother standing up for if no one wanted him to stand up.

The horseman had been stepping away from him in a much better mood but turned their head to shoot Crowley a warning glare. They were calm on the outside, but their eyes told a different story.

"I'll find a way of making you help me later, trust me. This isn't MY fault entirely." 

Blinking a couple times to get their eyes to clear up, they smiled at him before turning and going to collect whatever they could need. 

The angel didn't bother much with the way the tiny demon acted, it would be all bark and no bite anyway. He had witnessed them angry, and when they came to the point of no self-control, they acted spontaneously and didn't plan much. 

One last look at Crowley, he too disappeared upstairs to gather his belongings and maybe throw in some things for Crowley too. There wasn't a need to do it because just like the demon he could get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but it felt nice to not rely on miracles all the time.

The demon was squirmy while he waited for the two. He never liked being alone, so he took his time looking around the room, cleaning up some stains Pollution had left behind, with a miracle of course. 

When that was over he walked up to find Aziraphale, fidgety and nestling with his fingers until he couldn't bear it and slipped around the angel's neck as a snake so he could stay with him until he was done, without being in his way. 

Which didn't take as long as expected. Now they only needed to check in on the child, put the bags in the car and start driving. He was, quite honestly, nervous, and maybe a tad bit bothered, to see that woman again. And he hoped to god that Shadwell wouldn't try to annoy Aziraphale again, or badmouth him.

Taking a note on Crowley's presence yet not voicing it, Aziraphale let his fingers run over the snake's smooth skin before resuming to collecting various items. Not too much later he was back downstairs and watched Pollution coming down the stairs with a bag instead on a suitcase full of things the demon wanted to bring along. 

Should have guessed they were going to try to be as minimalistic as always. They walked past them humming since they knew where to go and walked outside to the Bentley to hop in. Aziraphale following right behind them.

When they sat Crowley slithered back onto the driver's seat and changed into a human, waiting for the other two to get comfortable before he put on Metallica and started the car. Leaning over, one hand on the headrest, he looked at the child on the backseat, though his words were also directed at Aziraphale when he glanced at him to confirm. 

"Got everything?"

The kid stared off at the bag that they had thrown on the seat next to them to think it over before turning to him. 

"Not much for me to take with me. I'll be fine with what I got." 

"If anything would be missing we could get it later, dear. Let's first get there and then ponder over what we could have also brought with us." 

Giving a quick glance at both demons he resorted to paying attention to shifting looks between the scenery and Crowley but mostly kept paying attention to buildings they passed by to not let the glances turn into a distraction for his lover.

The drive was...as fun as it could be with a distracted and pissy child. But somehow, when the old classic was on -'Nothing else matters'- and Crowley had been singing the lyrics vigorously, Pollution had, silently, joined in. Even Aziraphale hadn't quite gotten away from the demon's passion and had hummed, as best as he could while fearing for discorporation, while drumming his fingers on the seat. 

Pollution kept relatively silent for most of the drive though, only Crowley and Aziraphale would quarrel over the older demon's style of driving or talk about Madame Tracy and Shadwell. They had gotten out of the city for some time now and we're driving past vast fields of perfectly green grass, cows munching lazily while they stared after the Bentley shooting over the shitty roads. 

Oh Crowley didn't like these roads, he could hear the pebbles damage his beloved car, but what could he do. 

"Couldn't they have decided to live somewhere else? These roads are crap!"

"Don't be all negative about it. It is nice and peaceful here, not a lot of people live in this place I'm assuming. The two had a great idea to live more by themselves, no one would give noise complaints or constantly ask for things. I think I'd like it here." 

He caught the way the demon grimaced each time the sound of stone hitting metal was heard, and mentally prepared himself to fix that right up for him when they'd reach their goal. This was supposed to be relaxing for all of them, and not stress the poor demon out as he worried over his car. 

Lucky for them, they had covered most of the way to the little cottage already and only had to drive for a few more minutes. Hopefully there they could really take their time and forget about everything, aside from a bit of chattering from Madame Tracy and the thrown in comments Shadwell would make about them and their child. 

Aziraphale prayed he'd leave the kid alone.

Change of plan for Crowley. 

"Well, maybe someday then...", he mumbled, though he wasn't quite pleased with the idea. 

Or, well, if he thought about it, once Pollution was gone, that's what grandparents did, wasn't it? Retreat back to an unciviliced place and enjoy their alone time. Though the two of them wouldn't age, and neither would Pollution, not when they had reached their full power again. 

"Think that's it?" 

Crowley pointed at a wooden cottage just up a slight hill, resting idly between trees with a nice downview on the fences encaging the sheep and cattle. Looked idly peaceful. Not exactly a wooden cottage, that wasn't in modern fire regulations, but a wooden outlook nonetheless, with a very pretty garden Crowley added for himself, and clothes hanging outside to dry, whiffing in the wind.


	23. The Forest Cabin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER at the beginning:
> 
> You will see the writing style from now on differ from the previous due to my friend stopping his contribution to this. He isn't as into Good Omens as I still am, which is why I will continue in his stead. So expect a few changes in character and writing style, though I will try to portray the characters as he has as best I can
> 
> Which is also though why the chapters might, and probably will, turn out to be often a little smaller than the previous ones posted, like this one, since I am now alone writing them,

“I do believe so.”

Aziraphale squinted his eyes a little to see better, then checked the instructions on Crowley’s phone and nodded. “It is.”

“Well then.”

With a sharp turn Crowley maneuvered the Bentley up the slight hill and came to a halt in front of a pretty front entry with a green bench in front of it and weirdly old-fashioned curtains in the two small windows that gave a great view into a kitchen and dining room. Pollution had almost felt inclined to ask the older demon if he could try again but drift, but didn’t do it, they were sulky after all. 

Aziraphale was, as always, the first to step out. He was a little shaky on his feet after that hell of a ride and opened the door for Pollution, nice as he was, though not for Crowley who pouted at that before walking to the door to ring the doorbell. And almost immediately a rather small woman opened the door, hair an even brighter fiery red than the demon’s, clothes as funky and colourful as if she had been ready to work at a circus as fortune-teller, or a mentalist, which she did have as a side-job just before short. 

“Mr. Crowley, Aziraphale Sweetie, oh, and you must be Pollution!” 

She shook first Crowley’s, then Aziraphale’s hand, then almost immediately walked over to the child. She squatted down before them and gave them a bright smile, extending her hand. Quite reluctant the small demon shook it before quickly returning their hand to themselves and eyeing her weirdly.

“So nice to meet you! I am Tracy, you can call me aunty though.” 

“Tracy, right-”, the demon started, they didn’t want to call her aunty, that was just plain weird. This woman had something about her that wanted to make them go along with that crazyness, but something about her was just odd. Not to mention that calling her aunty right away was odd as hell, and hell was indeed odd.

Not brought down by Polly not going with their suggestion she got back up and sighed frustrated as she snapped her back. 

“Not as young as I used to”, she muttered with a goofy smile before she linked her right arm with Aziraphale and offered her hand to the child. 

Pollution eyed the hand, then stared at Tracy a little blank until the angel finally encouraged them to take her hand. So they did, and they almost felt a little more cheerful with their bubbly dad with the bright smile on the woman’s right, following her with a quiet chuckle at the forceful eagerness she always had, and with the woman nudging him as best she could before she winked at the Pollution.

“I’ve got cookies inside, freshly baked, still warm, you were quicker than I had expected. Oh, and you come too of course”, she nodded her head for Crowley to follow who had just stood beside them all a little lost. He felt a little left out, so he just locked his car and followed them inside. 

Shadwell was sitting at the table with the two trays full of cookies, not even tucked into the pretty cookie box that lay beside them yet. He was puffing a pipe and only raised an eyebrow, slowly grabbing another cookie and dipping it into the condensed milk in the glass beside him.

“Ye already here?”

“Already, Mister Shadwell.”

Aziraphale was pushed into the seat beside Shadwell, Pollution onto the one next to the one Tracy let herself sink into, Crowley had nowhere to sit so he just silently looked around before sighing and leaning against a shelf close enough to the table. 

“And that’s yer brat, aye?” 

He pointed his pipe towards Pollution who showed their teeth. “Ain’t no brat, old sucker.”

Shadwell furrowed his brows and leaned in closer. 

“How many nipples ya got, girly?”

“I’m no girly, old fart”, they hissed back, ready to make fun of him for being a pedophile, they interpreted his question that way, but Tracy butted in.

“Shush, deary, no witch hunting, we talked about this.”

Shadwell grumbled and leaned back, shoving the pipe back into his mouth and huffing.

“And they are no girl, love, I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Tracy sighed at the ignorance of her lover and shook her head. 

“Please, do get yourself cookies. Oh, and Crowley, I don’t believe I can offer you a chair, but you could potetantially take Mister Angel’s lap”, she winked and the tall demon flushed, giving a hushed look to his lover, who’s eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head, taking a cookie as quickly as it had been offered to him.

So Crowley just responded with a disappointed ‘nah’ and crossed his arms in front of his chest to look off to the side. Tracy was equally as disappointed but shrugged it off and turned to all of her guests. 

“Can I get you all something to drink then? We have coffee and all sorts of tea and juice and cocoa-”

“Cocoa”, Pollution interrupted Tracy the moment she had said it and Aziraphale too was eager to take her up on that offer. Always enough room for a cup of hot cocoa. 

“Crowley, dear? What about you?”, Aziraphale asked when he didn’t respond to the question, but the demon only answered with a quick ‘Don’t want anything’, before he returned to being silent. 

“Well, can I help you with something then?”, the angel said hopeful to the older woman that had already jumped up to get the chocolate powder and two mugs, but she too declined.

“Do you want your cocoa hot or cold?”

“Hot”, both angel and child answered at the exact same time before glancing towards each other. Tracy and Aziraphale broke off into quiet laughter, Pollution at least let the small grin onto their face. 

“You still need to fix up the bed in your room, loves, I hope you don’t mind, I didn’t yet have the time. And you of course, Polly, love, you can decide on your own where you want to sleep. If it’s with your ‘noisy’ parents”, she made a playful face and pointed towards angel and demon before winking at the child. 

“Or with me and Shadwell, or maybe even alone, if you dare to.”

“I am a few hundred years old, I can be alone in the dark.”

“Sure you can dear, I never doubted you, how would I come to that, i’m just offering”, she said sincerely before she put both cups into the microwave and set the timer. 

Pollution didn’t know if they should feel mocked or not, but they went with it.

“I’ll sleep alone.”

“Is that so, then I’m afraid I can’t offer you a room, but, I assure you, the couch in our living room, it is very comfortable to sleep on. Even my poor old back can deal with it, I have slept a few times on it when we were still moving.”

“Good.”

Pollution eyed the cups while they slowly turned in the microwave, timer going down second by second. A cocoa was always nice, especially since they weren’t really allowed to drink much more than two or max. three a day, for health reasons, though they were pretty sure that Aziraphale was allowed more, but she hadn’t yet managed to count the cups for a day, they always seemed to disappear before they could see them. Anyway, this was their chance to easily sneak more, they thought.

“While you wait for your drinks, why don’t you look around already? You see, i’ve got a bit of a mess still I need to clean up anyway, you caught me in the middle of it.”

She pointed to the sink and gave them an apologetic smile but Aziraphale gave her a reassuring wave of his hand, stating that she didn’t have to worry about a thing. Crowley therewhile pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Aziraphale.

“I’ll go get out luggage, if someone shows me where our room is.”

“Shadwell, dear? Would you be so kind?”

The old man grumbled and stood up, not before downing the glass of condensed milk and snatching another cookie, and walked past Crowley, waving for him to follow. It was weird to see his once boss in his house now with his husband, that damned southern pansy, and a child. Shadwell had never deemed him as that person, but how surprising people sometimes could be. Didn’t make him wish to talk much with neither Crowley nor Aziraphale though. 

Crowley was just awkward as his ex-boss, and Aziraphale was just...Aziraphale. Bloody ponce. Shadwell shook his head. Good thing Crowley could well not hear his thoughts, and didn’t feel any ill will emitting Shadwell, since the old man didn’t exactly bear any grudges or disgust against anyone, he just liked no one, that was just his premise. Else the demon would have surely taken the old man aside and showed him a real magic finger.

“He looks grunty, and he acts grunty, but he’s a soft soul underneath.”

Tracy exhaled softly and shook her head. Aziraphale frowned though and sighed himself. 

“Oh, dear, my Crowley isn’t much of a different thing.”

“Oh, he is such a kind soul though, he just emits that aura. Of a soft boy”, she chuckled and took the cups out to hand one to the child and one to the angel who lit up at the words she had used to describe his lover.

“Tell me dear, he is a bottom, isn’t he?”

Before the angel could answer Pollution chimed in, carefully blowing their cocoa.

“Yep.”

The woman gave them a confused look before she gave Aziraphale a pitying glance. “He must be loud then?”, she pointed to Pollution, who, again, answered.

“Yep.”

“Shush, Polly, and you too Tracy. This is no appropiate subject.”

Tracy, who was still taken aback that the child answered and knew what she was talking about, before she shook her head, reminding herself that the child in front of her was indeed already hundreds of years old and smirked.

“You should soundproof your bedroom, love”, was what she finished it off with before she sat down on the edge of the kitchen table and snatched a cookie, carefully nibbling on it. 

“I hope you had a pleasant ride here?”

Aziraphale grimaced and sipped his cocoa.

“Well, pleasant is the wrong way to describe it...”

“Of course, with that hellish way of driving. I wasn’t quite sure if it was fun or not when he drove that...thing at the airbase.”

“Well, I was sure of it”, the angel mumbled and was immediately broken off by Pollution.

“I think it’s fun. Though not as fun as a motorcycle.”

“A motorcycle? Ah, right, you were one of the horsemen, weren’t you-”

“I still am”, they snapped and glared.

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry, dear. I saw those motorcycles, you must miss yours, don’t you?”

A bit caught by the question Pollution pushed the cup against their lips and looked off. 

“You know, I have a scooter. It’s not as fun as a motorcycle though...”

She bowed down now, so the angel couldn’t hear her.

“I might lend it to you to drive it, if you want.”

Pollution immediately lit up. “Really?”

Tracy only smiled and put a finger to her lips at which the angel gave her a worried look, but she only laughed it off. 

“There is so much we have to catch up on, so much has happened, but I don’t think now is the right time. You wouldn’t want to sit and listen to two adults ramble on, do you now? Love, I have a way better idea. I’d just need to clean up quickly and how about we then...go into the garden?”

The woman winked at Pollution and smiled brightly. The child didn’t know what that wink meant, but it felt like something good, so they nodded and sipped their drink.

Aziraphale wasn’t blind, he had seen that wink too, and he was a little concerned, so he frowned and placed the cup down. “Tracy, I hope you don’t think on doing anything dangerous with Polly. I wouldn’t anything to happen to them.”

“We’ll do nothing, d a d”, Polly mocked them, annoyed by the worry. Whatever that wink had meant, they wanted it now, and they wouldn’t let the angel interfere.  
Before Aziraphale could call them out on their tone of voice though Tracy shushed him and slid off the table. 

“Dear, when have I ever done anything dangerous. I am old enough to have grandkids, it isn’t in my age anymore to be dangerous, though of course you wouldn’t know that, being celestial and immortal and all that, but you could stop me from something potentially dangerous and help me clean the kitchen.” 

Sneaky as ever that woman, had made the angel feel just the tiny bit guilty that he didn’t age and didn’t weaken due to it like Tracy did, or any other human. So he sighed and nodded. “I’ll help you”, and with a snap the kitchen was spot-clean.

Aziraphale wouldn’t do any physical labour to clean the kitchen, that was really just too bothersome. 

“Thank you so much, love. Shaddy, deary?” 

Shuffling and a loud thump, then someone cursing, then the old man appeared in the doorframe.

“Whot.”

“Would you show Aziraphale, and Mr. Crowley too of course, around the house? Little Polly and I have a garden to look at.”

Shadwell furrowed his brows and gave Aziraphale a disapproving look before giving in to her request.

“Aye, come here, laddie.”

“Go on, dear”, Tracy waved for him to come over, so the angel followed, a little uncomfortable, and feeling a little like she was trying to get rid of him to show Polly the garden, which sounded like a codeword, and he felt unnerved by it. 

Shadwell wasn’t as patient though and he had already started walking off again, which is why the angel needed to hurry a little, though he did run back to get his mug. Once he was out of the kitchen and hastily followed the older man, Tracy clasped her hands together and had a near demonic smile on her face while she extended one hand to the child.

“You ready, dear?”

Pollution nodded and took her hand immediately now, cup emptied quickly and left on the table. When the angel gave another quick look back Tracy only gave him the most angelic smile she could muster and waved after him.

…….

“And tis the bathroom”, Shadwell grumbled as he pointed at the door. Aziraphale, and Crowley who they had picked up along the way, nodded silently.

“Since it ith right ‘cross yer room ye can’t miss it.”

He eyed them up and down while outside an engine started up, and Aziraphale thought that he’d finally gotten a clue on what ‘looking at the garden’ had meant. And he wished to run straight out there and stop Tracy from letting them on the scooter, but he just to god hoped that she was just driving them around a little, and, under that old man’s stare, he somehow felt very glued to the spot.

“Back to yer room.”

He turned around and walked back to the guest room. A small one, with two beds in it, but only one pile of sheets, and a big shelf as well as a sign on the door saying ‘guest room’, how original. It felt almost like a hotel room, especially with the weird little airfreshener in it. 

Shadwell waved both of them inside before he turned to stand in the doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest and looking like he was about to lecture them, which he was. 

“I don’t want ye two philanderin’ with each other while yer here, and no drugs either.”

Who was he seeing them as; children? He sounded much like it.

“I want me sleep so no loud noises when ye come home late, no loud noises in general. This ain’t yer bedroom, ain’t yer house, don’t wanna hafta remind ya of that.”

He seemed about ready to turn around, stopped, looked around, puffed out a cloud of smoke and eyed the two before he shook his head, grumbled and walked off. Aziraphale could only look after him dumbfounded.

“What was this man thinking we were about to be doing here?”, he asked, shaking his head a little unbelieving before he turned to Crowley.

“What the fuck is that geezer thinking of making those rules for?!”

“Crowley, you weren’t thinking of-”

“What?”

The demon snapped at him and Aziraphale couldn’t but shake his head, give him a disapproving look and furrow his brows.

“We’re at someone else’s house, Crowley. If you think that I would even deepen a kiss here, you a more than mistaken. I might even feel inclined to forbid your from even holding my hand if you think only that way.”

“What?! But I wasn’t even-!”, he started but the angel shushed him with a strict glance. 

“Let’s unpack and forget about this”, Aziraphale said while already turning to untangle their luggage and rummage around. 

“You can’t just lecture me and then turn around-”, the demon whined and demonstratively pointed to the one pile of bedsheets.

“We’ve got two beds, but only one set of sheets, that was Tracy’s doing. If anything that woman wants something!”

Aziraphale sighed and turned to pick the sheets up, walking over to one bed to fix it up. 

“Well, dear, if you rather sleep in your own bed, I believe I can manage to get Tracy to give us another pair.”

“But that isn’t-!”

Crowley was desperately trying to find some way to counter his lover’s voice, not sure if he was being teased or not, but after a few seconds only muttered an apology and moved over to help his angel.


	24. Family Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for my buddy for beta-reading a part I was unsure about still, even though he's not in the fandom anymore

“To a relaxing weekend.”

Four mouths repeated the words and five glasses were raised to toast. Tracy had brought out a bottle of wine for dinner, only Polly didn’t drink, they had grape juice instead, and seemed to enjoy it. And this time Crowley did have a chair, they had carried it from the living room to the dining room, so he now sat next to Aziraphale, leaned back with both hands behind the backrest. 

Polly had moved their chair closer to Tracy, who now sat in between child and her lover, across the angel who sat far enough from the demon for it to be apparent that they had had a fight just before. But Tracy didn’t butt in that, she knew to be silent when it was needed. 

“Do you like it here, Polly?”, Aziraphale started a conversation, reaching to grab a slice of bread from the breadbasket, giving her an interested smile. 

They were smiling, had helped Tracy lay the table and were basically following her everywhere since they had returned back to the house. Aziraphale still didn’t know what they had done exactly outside, but it seemed to have had a good effect on the small demon.

“Mhm.” 

Polly nodded and looked proud while they sipped their juice, glancing up to the woman next to them who returned the look with a knowing grin. She ruffled through their white hair at which the child perked up and giggled quietly. 

“Aunt Tracy is cool.”

Tracy immediately lit up proudly while Aziraphale raised an eyebrow. That had been fast, they had been denying Tracy to call her that way just this morning when they had arrived. 

Polly looked up now and shot Aziraphale an arrogant and mocking grin: “Unlike you”, at which Tracy flicked the back of their head and shook her own. 

“Polly, love.”

The small demon sighed sulky and shot her a look. “What, it’s true. They only ever judge me for what I do and give me unreasonable penalties”, they glared at Crowley who shot them an equally as dark look back. 

“Well, dear, it might have been a bit much, but you needed to learn, that violence is unacceptable.”

The angel was unfaced by their anger towards them and shook his head. “We’re not backing off from it, Polly. We’re not here to discuss this though.”

“Well, I want to live with aunty from now on.”

“Excuse me…?”, Aziraphale had expected anything but that, and even Crowley now let a confused look slip from underneath his usual ‘cool’ mask. 

“I can live with you, can’t I, aunty, uncle?”

The child looked around for acceptance from any of the adults, they were proud of their idea and were certain to follow through with it, certain that Tracy would be on their side. But Shadwell only furrowed his brows, Tracy looked puzzled and Aziraphale looked as if he was not sure if he should feel heartbroken, or confused, or take it lightly since it was just a child’s idea when angry at their parents. 

“...aunty?”

Tracy had retreated her hand to herself and gave the angel a weird mixture of an apologetic and overwhelmed look. Under that indescribable look Polly shrunk a little on their seat and shifted a bit away from the older woman. 

“Uncle…?”

Shadwell stared at them, taking a bite of his bread with the thick slice of cheese on it, before he, seemingly disinterested, eyed angel and demon. 

“What the hell is wrong with you all?! Is no one on my side here?!” 

The jumped up and accidentally knocked over their glass, juice spilling onto the white table-cloth and dying it a deep red. Their fingers were twitchy and they looked almost as furious as when they had returned home from school, though there was something else gleaming underneath it, something seeming like hurt. 

“I didn’t do anything wrong, don’t look at me like I did! Aunty, you told me that you’re on my side, you promised me! You said it’s normal to get angry at that bullshit!”

Tracy held her hands up in defence and stood up, walking slowly towards the small demon trembling with anger. 

“Polly, I did-”

“Then why! I want to live with you! I hate it at home! I don’t want to go back! They hate me! They just want me gone anyway!”

“We would never-”, the angel started but got interrupted by Pollution, turning and pointing towards him. 

“You’re lying! I was only protecting our family! That little shit deserved it! She yelled at me! Again, and again, and again! And all you do is yell at me too! I hate you! I hate you two!”, they screamed, veins showing under their paler growing skin and goo gathering in their mouth, making them have to spit out before they turned towards Tracy, pointing first at her, then Shadwell.

“And you! I hate you two! Acting like you support me, and then backstabbing me! You’re all no better than hell! I hate you! I hate you all!”

With black and glossy eyes they turned around and stormed out of the dining room and out of sight.

“Oh dear god...Polly!” 

Aziraphale almost as quickly jumped up too and wanted to hurry after them, but Tracy took hold of his sleeve and pulled him back. “Don’t follow them!”

“Tracy, they’re crying, I can’t-!”

“No, listen to me!” She shook him, giving him a pained look before she gestured for him to sit back down. Unconvinced he stared at her a moment before he deemed her words trustworthy enough and retreated to his seat, sitting down and searching until he found Crowley’s hand, squeezing it. Fight or not, nervous and on edge as he was, he needed comfort.

Sighing exhausted Tracy sat down too, glancing to the door before she frowned and eyed Aziraphale, how he sat there, tense and glancing to the door every few seconds, hand cupped by Crowley who leaned in to listen to her as well. 

“Don’t follow them. If they storm off, that means they need time. Give them at least ten minutes, give them time to cool off.”

“But what if-”

“Not what if’s, give them time.” A little reassuring smile curled her lips as she continued: “When I was younger, I helped an old friend of mine take care of his daughter. She was very impulsive and cried easily, a shy, bright young thing. A lovely girl. She had many outbreaks like these, more often with him than with me, but I have dealt with it before too. Believe me when I say, give them their minutes. That doesn’t mean leave them alone, i’m not saying that.”

“But what if they need comfort? What if they’re sitting somewhere and wishing for us to come?”

Crowley felt by now like Aziraphale was trying to crush his hand by how tight his grip was, and it only seemed to tighten. Shifting closer to his lover he wrapped one arm around his shoulder and squeezed his hand back. The angel’s free hand almost immediately shot up to hold onto Crowley’s arm too. 

Tracy was put on just as much an edge as Aziraphale was by how he freaked, only Crowley seemed to grow more fidgety than her. He seemed lost in thought and bit his lips. 

“They won’t let ya comfort ya right now anyway, lad, let it go.”

Surprisingly Shadwell was the one who spoke up. He took a gulp of his wine and took the pipe out of his pocket, lighting it and taking a deep drag. 

“And what would you know”, Crowley hissed, defensive of Aziraphale and irritated by the way how calm the old man seemed. 

“And what do ya know ‘bout me, hm? Bein’ a witchfinder don’t make me stupid, old age don’t either.” 

Shadwell was quick to give the demon a judging look before he turned to the hyperventilating ponce. 

“Have ye never had a fight in which one ran ‘way?”

Aziraphale swallowed hard before slowly nodding. “...I have.”

“See? ‘S like that.”

The angel wanted to say something, but only exhaled and loosened his grip on Crowley who had tried not to make it obvious that he had hurt him with the way he had clutched onto him. 

Seeming satisfied by the reaction of the other Shadwell huffed and focused back on his pipe. Tracy seemed just as irritated by Shadwell’s interference. She had known Shadwell since he had moved into that apartment, and that had been quite some time, but that didn’t mean she knew everything, or even too much about him. At least not about his past, he didn’t talk about it. If he didn’t want to or if he just didn’t deem it important, she couldn’t say. 

She knew he was a good soul, but still, this came as a surprise to her. Though, she guessed, everyone must have had a fight like this once in their life.

“Ten minutes, then i’ll check on them. You stay here, Crowley. We won’t want to overwhelm them or have them feeling like we’re trying to drive them into a corner.”

Just like that Aziraphale seemed back to his cheerful, calm self, as if he never had freaked out about this at all.

“Won’t you eat something too, dear?”, he gave the demon a smile and already took his bread up again, taking a bite and letting out a delighted noise. It could just be the usual Aziraphale, but in this moment, it was obvious it was more for drowning out his focus on the time that wouldn’t go any faster the longer he concentrated on it. 

A little daunted Crowley shrugged and retreated his hands to himself, taking a sole slice of bread and listlessly nibbling on it. Was better than nothing. The angel gave no other comment to It, only smiled officiously while he ate in silence. Only when he was done he placed his knife on his plate and stood up, gathering up everyone’s plates too.

“Let me help you, dear. We’re your guests, so we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you further.”

“Oh, you haven’t inconvenienced me, love. But your help is highly appreciated. Thank you”, she stood up herself to help. Shadwell and Crowley didn’t, they only stared at different points on those flower-wallpapered walls. 

When the angel looked at the owl-shaped clock hanging on the wall again he turned to Crowley, pointing to the sink where Tracy had started washing the dishes. 

“Help her Crowley.”

No arguing, and since his mind was elsewhere, the demon didn’t even think off using a miracle for it. And Tracy wouldn’t ask for it, it was indeed a nice thing to concentrate on when being on edge at the child’s outbreak just minutes ago. Smelling the soap, grimacing at the hot water burning her hands, the demon absent mindedly drying off the plates and cutlery she handed him. Indeed something to concentrate on without having to think much. 

And the moment Aziraphale had commanded Crowley around he had, quietly but determined, stormed off to find the child. He softly knocked on the doors he walked past, softly calling out their name. He wouldn’t want to make them feel like he was angry, or like he was out to yell at them, wouldn’t want them to feel unsafe, especially not when they were so worked up. He couldn’t feel negative emotions as well as Crowley could, so he had to rely on his human senses instead. When he knocked on the door to the bathroom and he heard shuffling he stopped and pressed one ear to the door.

“Polly? Are you in there?”

No response. They were trying not to make a sound, were trying to make him go away. They didn’t want to talk. They were angry at them, and felt guilty, and didn’t know what to think. They really didn’t want to hear him, or see him, interact with him. 

“Polly, I know you’re in there. Please talk to me.”

“...go away.” 

The angel took a deep breath. At least the had responded at all, that was a start. Hopefully a start towards a conversation. He changed position now, leaning his forehead against the cool door so he could hear and talk easily. 

“Polly, dear-”

“Don’t.”

It felt like they had stabbed his heart when they cut him off, but still he took a deep breath and continued.

“I apologize. Polly, please talk to me. I’m not mad at what you said before.”

“But I am mad at it!”, they snapped back, slamming one fist against the toilet seat they were curled up on. “You should be too. I yelled at you, I told you I hate you. I do. I fucking hate you!”

Another sting in his heart.

“You did yell at us, and I was heartbroken at it, if you really wish to know. But, Polly, you’re my precious bitsy, our precious kid, I love you nonetheless.”

Quiet tapping of fingers against ceramic, quiet, slightly sped up breathing, and silence. They seemed to be thinking about their words, about his words.

“May I come in?”

“No!”

He immediately pulled his hands away from the handle like he had burnt himself.

“Okay, if you don’t want that, I respect it.”

Another brief moment of silence followed. He wondered if he should speak more, how he should phrase it, if he could make them believe his words, since they didn’t seem to be. Aziraphale had never been there for Crowley in moments like these, and he knew the demon had had countless, and he cursed himself for not being there, but so he didn’t have any experience. Only the determination to not let it go like this. He wouldn’t again turn his back to one he loved, not if god herself came down to punish him for it, and he had lost faith in such thing to ever happen again. 

“Do you maybe want to talk?”

“…I don’t”

“What do you want then?”

“...for you to leave.”

The more they spoke, the more he was sure that they were crying. Every instinct in him yelled at him to go in there and hug them, hold them close and not let them go. 

“I’ve told you, I will not leave. But if you wish, I will be quiet until you’ve calmed yourself. Would that be okay with you?”

“...whatever-”, they sniffed and exhaled shaky, a whimper following before they quieted to silent sniffling. 

The angel slid down the door to sit against it, back to the door, head leaned against it, hands folded in his lap. Quieting his breathing he concentrated in it, ears perked for every little noise coming from behind the door. And time went incredibly slow it seemed, seemed to have been slowed to a near halt, and it made him twitchy, fingers nestling with the buttons of his vest, slipping them out and into the loop again and again.

“...are you still there?”

“I sure am.” He was relieved to finally hear them speak again and stopped the work on his buttons, hands slipping back down into a praying matter. The angel could swear he felt some kind of relief from the other side of the door too. Very light, but there.

“Why?”

They sniffed back their snot before blowing their nose in the sleeve of their shirt, furiously wiping their eyes.

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m waiting for you to calm down or allow me in there.”

“...you’re ridiculous. I hate you.”

But the words didn’t have the same edge as before, seemed almost soft, as if they themselves didn’t believe them much. The key was turned in the keyhole and then the door opened. Aziraphale quickly jumped up, patted dust of his pants and gave the small demon an encouraging smile.

They didn’t give him much of an expression though, made sure to not let their gaze wander to his face, black goo smudged on their cheeks and lips, eyes cloudy with black wafting over them.

“Where is your room?”

“Our room? Oh, just across”, he pointed towards it. 

The child nodded and opened their mouth as if they wanted to say something, but clenched their fists, half-heartedly wiped at the grime and walked past him.

“Polly…?”

“...what?”

“May I give you a hug?”

They stopped and hesitated. Then they shrugged and nodded. “Whatever.”

Carefully Aziraphale moved in closer before squatting down, pulling them into a loose hug, pressing their back to his stomach for just a few moments before he let them go and pat them once.

“Do you want to have the room to yourself for the moment?”

They nodded and bit their lips harder, trying to fight the tears once more, head hung low so their hair covered their eyes just enough, though he couldn’t see them anyway the way he was standing behind them. 

“I’ll tell the others not to bother you. Anything else you need?”

The shook their head, taking a deep breath before they muttered a silent ‘thank you’ and ran off, slamming the door behind themselves before they would let themselves fall onto the bed, face pressed into the pillow. 

“I heard the door slamming, everything okay?”, Tracy asked, hurrying over to Aziraphale before they looked at the door to the guest room. “Are they okay?”

The angel shrugged and rubbed his temples. “I believe they are as well as they can be right now.”

Comfortingly the woman placed one hand on his arm and rubbed it with her thumb. “I’ll talk to them later again if they let me. I’m sure it will help them, if someone else than their parents has a serious talk with them. I’ve talked to them this afternoon, but not very seriously. But they’ve got me up to date on what happened at school, and really, this headmaster. Don’t ever let me near this ignorant woman, i’m going crazy just hearing about this nonsense. Or maybe do, maybe do take me to the next parent-teacher meeting. I’ll give her a piece of my mind. Enough that she’ll wish she’s never said anything against my dear little niephling.”

Quiet, relieved laughter escaped the angel at the woman’s determination. It was comforting to have her so protective of Polly, and he was sure, that she really would help.

“Please, do talk to them. They seem to like you, i’m sure they will listen if it’s you.”

“Don’t be mad if we trashtalk you and your demon a little”, she winked, which elicited a smile from Aziraphale.

“Do as much trashtalking as you need, but I beg of you, don’t go too overboard.”

“Of course not.” 

She retreated her hand to herself and turned to the door once more, sighing before she pointed to where she had come from. “Crowley seems quite anxious too, you should tell him that it’s fine. He seemed to be falling apart on his chair.”

“Dear god...”, Aziraphale mumbled and hurried after her. It seemed she had exaggerated a little, or it was his presence that made him calm, but the demon was only slightly slumped together, hands nervously playing with his hairband, but he seemed enough put together.

Crowley jumped up when he saw the angel and walked over. “How are they?”

“Well enough, dear. They need their time now. They’re in our room, want to be left alone for a while, so do leave the room alone. I believe i’ve already exhausted their patience and willingness to listen for the while.”

The demon sighed and nodded, closing his eyes for a few moments before he turned to lean against the wall instead, staring to the ceiling. 

“I just hope I did the right thing. Dear lord, I am so sorry for this, Tracy. I told you that they’d be feeling a bit cranky and be a bit of trouble to deal with, but I hadn’t expected this much. I apologize sincerely for dragging you-”

“Oh shush, be quiet. I got involved in this on my own accord, I proposed it after all, didn’t I? I was prepared for trouble when you told me about it, and I do not regret it. Such a sweet child, really. I think I might snatch them away from you.”

A tad more cheerful she stuck her tongue out at him before she got the, now all boxed up, cookies out again and offered the box to the angel, who gladly took one.

“I can tell you, I won’t let you take them from us. They’re our child, be reminded of that.”

“Overprotective as any parent should be”, she laughed and offered him the cookie box again. “A good trait to have, I’ve met parents who weren’t at all like that.”

Aziraphale grimaced. “I’ve met such parents too, makes one wonder why and how god would let someone turn out like that.”

When the angel turned to be more serious again, and possibly dragged down by the subject, she cleared her throat, offering him another cookie, this time he took three.

“Change of subject. I think you two need a bit of vacation too.”

“Do we?”

“Well, obviously! They’ve been keeping you on edge for a while now, haven’t they? And being at home, no matter how nice it may be, is still being at home. I recommend you with getting a change of scenery.”

The angel frowned at the thought and finished all three cookies off at once, licking the crumbs off his fingers.

“I don’t think we should leave when they are in this state-”

“Honey, listen.”

Tracy puffed up their chest and frowned, setting the box aside to rest her hands on her hips, giving Aziraphale a lecturing look. 

“Every parent needs a break from time to time, especially at times like these. I do not believe, that they would wish to speak to you much anyway this evening. They’ve not been wanting to do that yesterday either, now did they?”

The angel shook his head.

“See? We’ve just agreed upon me talking to them later, so it is your job to calm yourselves down. It’d be no help anyway if you’d just keep edging them on further by how nervous you are. Just look at yourself! I’m not holding being nervous against you, but you still need to calm. And your husband over there isn’t much better.”

In any situation both Crowley and Aziraphale would have stated that they weren’t married, but now she only got the demon’s attention with that word, his gaze resting on her, though no apparent flushing like he usually would. 

“Love, I have a proposition for you. You can’t use your room right now anyway, so how about you two take a walk outside? It is nice weather today, and a very nice sky. And since we’re far from any civilization here, it’s very quiet, only the usual sounds of nature, and the occasional mooing of cows. You’ve probably been cooped up in your bookshop for days, haven’t you two?”

Aggrieved nodding from both angel and demon. Tracy sighed.

“Oh help me god, you two are a total mess, and it scares me that I know you well enough for this already after only a tad more than a month of scarce interaction. I sure hope this won’t mark off on Polly. You two, come with me.”

She took their hands and dragged them after herself and to the front door, pushing them outside before she walked off to find a map, handing it over to them. Pointing to a spot deep in the woods near the cottage she showed them how to get there, which wasn’t as complicated as it had looked at first,

“You two are going to take this map and will take a walk and cool off your heads. I’m sure when you return, you can have your room for yourselves, and everything will be fine. You can stay out as long as you want, just be sure to be quiet if you return too late, here are the keys, put them on the dining room once you’re home. I recommend stopping here, it’s a very pretty clearing. Shadwell and I had some very romantic eves there already.”

She pushed keys and map into their hands, gave them a warning look and eyed both individually. 

“Got that?”

The two men nodded, a little overwhelmed by being pushed out like this.

“Good”, she smiled now and finally relaxed. “Then I wish you a good walk and a good night.”

“You too, Tracy. Be sure to look after Polly, will you?”

“Of course”, she nodded and closed the door, waving. 

Crowley sighed distressed and eyed the map weirdly, turning it around in his hand until he seemed satisfied and pocketed the keys. “You think this is really okay?”

“Are you worried, Crowley?”

“You’re not?”

“No, of course I am. It feels like i’ll explode from worry any moment, so I do believe that Tracy had truth in what she said. I still don’t feel comfortable with it though.”

Aziraphale took the map from the demon’s hand and eyed it, starting to walk. Tracy was right, no use in brooding at home, she had promised to have a talk with them after all, and he was sure that that was the right thing to do. His mind still screamed otherwise though, worry and anxiety radiating off it, like it radiated off the other. 

“I just wondered that you willingly agreed on being nice”, he mocked, giving Crowley a cheeky look.

“Wha- when did I do that?”, the demon asked, hurrying to catch up the angel, though he wasn’t walking very fast. 

“Just now.” 

Aziraphale booped his nose and gave him a smile. “You said you worry for them. Only a nice and responsible parent worries for their kid.”


	25. Reassurance Of The Minds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you for all the support and the love on this fanfiction. I had never expected anyone to read something long like this, so thank you so very much!
> 
> Also I finally gave the chapters names, so I hope it's easier to navigate now. I know it is for me, I don't know why I didn't do this earlier to be honest.

“That wasn-”

“Crowley.”

Aziraphale stopped and pushed one finger against Crowley’s lips, shushing him forcefully, yet gently. “I’m not going to discuss this with you again.”

The demon stared at the finger, heat spreading from his lips to his cheeks, and he couldn’t do much but wait until the angel pulled back and gave him a pleased smile.

“Very good, dear”, he smiled and turned to walk again, fast enough that Crowley had to catch up to him once more.

Aziraphale looked up at the sky, watching the stars glisten in the dark and took a deep breath of the cool air, enjoying a slight breeze ruffling through his platinum curls. “Do you think it was really right of us? How we reacted to that talk with the principal I mean.”

The demon was forced out of his head by that statement and shook his head. “No violence, no obvious miracles, that was the rules. They broke it. If we’d praise them for that, we’d teach ‘em that that’d be right.”

“Well, yes, of course, I just thought, maybe we should have explained to them more. Maybe it was wrong to give in to being angry. Crowley, I worry i’m losing my head over this, that i’m losing my holiness, being gentle I mean. I fear I’ll be going down a demonic path soon if I keep going like this.”

He sighed and crossed his hands in front of his stomach.

“I even made this medic trip, that was wrong of me. No matter what this woman did, she already had a broken leg, I didn’t need to double her pain. I was just...I was just so angry, you see? They dared to insult not only Polly but also you and...all this...this homophobia and fixation on being the adversary of god, which of course she didn’t say, but she thought she knew exactly what god wished. Not even us angels know. Now how would such a….woman be able to decipher the ineffable plan.”

Frowning the angel tightened his grip on himself and sighed. The demon was honest to someone stunned by what the other was telling him. He had coated being troubled incredibly well, or just not yet had had the time to let the worry take over, but even Crowley had not noticed what had been going through his lover’s mind.

“Have I overwhelmed you, dear?”, Aziraphale asked while he turned to him, giving him an apologetic smile.

Waving his hands around defensively Crowley furiously shook his head and hurried to walk by his side, staring up into the sky himself.

“You won’t become a demon. You won’t fall, you’re not a bad person, you’re not doing bad deeds. You’re just being nice and gentle”, ‘most of the time’, he added quietly. “You wouldn’t ever become one. For that you’d have to kill someone, or stay around the wrong people.”

“Around demons you mean?”

“Well, yeah.”

“So I shouldn’t hang around you anymore?”

“I- what? No! I-”

Aziraphale chuckled quietly, though it wasn’t much amused, more a bit desperate. “I’m sorry, dear, I was just teasing you. You’re not a wrong person, and you’re not a bad demon. I don’t believe I would fall because of you, but even if I did, I would take it if it was for you.”

“Ngh”, was the only thing Crowley responded with at first. He was a bit torn between being angry at the angel and feeling hurt, but only sighed and shook his head. “Don’t fall.”

“I’m trying my best. I would not wish to.”

“Don’t try. Just don’t fall”, Crowley mumbled, then cleared his throat and rubbed the keys between his fingertips a little nervous, while the angel whispered a silent ‘I’m sorry’, realizing he clearly had overstepped the boundary.

“...when we come back we should talk to them again and explain, once they’re willing to, I mean”, the demon suggested, head turned to the side, watching the patches of grass fade while they walked into the woods, vast fields replaced by giant trees, towering into the nightsky.

“I agree.”

For a moment there was a strange silence between them, only the quiet rustling of the leaves in the wind and the noises of pebbles being dragged over the ground and pounded into it with every footstep the two took. Then Aziraphale took it upon himself again to speak.

“I have to admit, I could have started crying hearing littly Polly fight for our family, if it hadn’t been in that situation.”

Crowley gave him a side-glance, then nodded. “They normally only like to complain after all. They’ve never really said it yet.”

“Exactly, that is why. I mean”, he turned towards the demon and gave him a happy and proud smile. If a smile would actually be ‘bright’, then this one would have lit up the whole forest. “They said they loved us and our little family.”

The demon returned the smile with a relaxed one and nodded, equally as proud, though not as blatantly showing it. Then his gaze returned back to the sky and he watched a flock of birds flying north over their heads, as well as he could see through the cloud of trees framing his view.

“It would be indeed easier if we could fly over this forest, than tread through it. Don’t you agree, Crowley?”

A little confused the demon turned his head back to the angel. His eyes were sparkling with a, probably, rather ridiculous idea, deeming from the way he smiled and seemed so laid back. “We can’t just fly around here, angel.”

“Oh, no, no, of course not”, came the answer with an expression showing, he clearly knew more than the demon did. And the demon didn’t appreciate that.

“No ridiculous ideas, Aziraphale.”

“No ridiculous ideas, Crowley”, the angel repeated and nodded, then patted his vest pocket.

“You’ve been cold for a while now, haven’t you, Crowley?”

The taller one swallowed at the overuse of his name and shook his head, with his face shooting blatant question marks over to Aziraphale.

“Not really?”

“Oh, sure you have been. I can see you shivering over there. Come here, my dear, no need to be cold.”

“I’m not-”

“Oh shush, come here, Anthony J. Crowley. It’s in your best interest.”

His full name? Really? That was something the angel only used when the demon was in deep trouble, or calling for it, but now? It didn’t really fit in his mind and he couldn’t quite read the angel’s intentions at all. Nevertheless he shot the other a bit of a wary and questioning look and moved in closer. When Aziraphale now held out his hand, palm upwards, Crowley looked around cautiously and hissed, before he morphed into a snake, elegantly wrapping himself around the angel’s arm, and slithered into his vest pocket as he was guided to it.

It was indeed warmer than it had been walking. And he could hear the other’s heartbeat, which was an indeed plus. He hissed comfortably while Aziraphale pat the pocket and spoke in a soothing tone of voice: “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it, Crowley?”

“Guesss ssso”, came the hissed answer from inside and he rested his head on outside the pocket to be able to see, sleepily relaxing his body into a small, snaky lump. It felt almost like a very comfortable and soft, living bed. Which didn’t sound at all comfortable when you thought of it as breathing, but this one was either way.

The demon didn’t see the little, playful glint in Aziraphale’s eyes anymore as they walked, though he probably should have, and been more careful about this whole ordeal. But really, it was just too comfortable. That was, until the demon snake was suddenly flying towards the ground when the angel had all but disappeared.

A shrill, hissed scream escaped him as he watched the ground crashing in closer and closer, too stunned and confused to think about turning back. “Angel!”

Shortly before he hit the ground, two pairs of talons wrapped themselves around his body and he was saved from smashing onto the ground. Frightened he wriggled around until he could shoot a look upwards and saw an owl. Really now? Aziraphale had disappeared for some reason, and now some stupid owl had caught him as food?

“Angel!? Angel, _where are you?!_ ”

Had there been a holy portal open in the ground he hadn’t felt or seen? Had it been a trap? Had heaven and hell seen through their guise? Was this gonna be the end for them?

“Stop wriggling around so much, or I will drop you.”

“...Asssziraphale?”

“Well, what else would I be? An ardvaark?”, the owl chuckled and, a little clumsily, maneuvered itself through the tree crowns and high up into the open air.

“That isssn’t fucking funny! I thsssought heaven had gotten you or sssomething! Or worssse even, hell!”

“Oh, could it be you’ve never seen my celestial form?”

  
That sounded way too smug for it to be an actual question. Crowley hissed frustrated, and relieved, and hung limply in the angel’s talons. “I sssshould have jusst went to Alpha Cssentauri...”

“Dear, was that so bad?”, came the slightly more worried answer now, and Aziraphale tried to look down as best he could, which wasn’t much.

The snake kept quiet, sulked and tempted to throw the angel off now by turning back, to then catch _him_ out of the air.

“I’m sorry Crowley, it was just supposed to be a little joke-”

Aziraphale sounded genuinely apologetic and stilled his flight now. “Should I let you down? Crowley, I-”

“Ah, whatever. ‘Ssss not like it hurt me or anything.”

“It did, Crowley. Now you speak openly with me, and tell me what I should do. I’m sorry, I genuinely am.”

Crowley let his tongue flick out once while he stared down at the intricate carpet of tree crowns underneath, which would probably have been green and pretty, but looked like a black, shadowy world in the dark.

“Jussst get me down to that damned clearing.”

“Of course, dear.”

The demon sighed and watched the black crowns underneath swim and blur as Aziraphale picked up the pace. And Crowley now had to agree, it was indeed cold up here in the night, especially with the wind that pushed violently against his small body.

“Are you okay down there?”, came a worried question from the angel to break the silence.

The demon hissed a bit stuttered and wriggled around a little before he answered. “’Ssss a bit cold.”

“Of course, I should have thought of that! Dear, I am incredibly sorry, I seem to be beside myself today.”

The talons loosened their grip a little for a moment and, before he knew it, Crowley was wearing a little snake sweater. Simple, but warm.

“I’ll knit you one myself once I have time, I promise you that.”

The longer Aziraphale talked, the more Crowley noticed the quiet little hooting Aziraphale would sometimes do. It sounded incredibly cute how soft he sounded. The demon wondered if Aziraphale even realized that.

“You’re hooting.”

“I am?”

“You really never noticssed?”

“Well, I never really use this form much, as you can probably see from my clumsy flying. I wish I could do better for you than shake you around violently, dear.”

If the angel now cursed...Aziraphale sounded cute either way when he did, but with that little hooting tick? Dear lord, satan and humanity. That would probably be too much.

“Can you cursssee?”

“Excuse me?”

“Can you ssssay: You violent poor bloodssssucker of a whore?”

“What?”, came the baffled response. The demon sounded too excited for his own good, and Aziraphale didn’t quite know how to respond to that.

“Why would I even do that?”

“Jussst thssinking ‘bout something”, came the immediate response of the demon. Of course Aziraphale wouldn’t do that. It wasn’t that he didn’t curse at all anymore, but that didn’t mean he would curse without rhyme and reason, like Crowley did. Then how about another word…

“It’ssss tickety boo.”

“Tickety-boo?”

A hissed, strangled noise, that sounded like a rat dying, came immediately when Aziraphale spoke, not noticing the soft hoot that finished off the word he had just spoken. Now the angel was indeed worried and he stopped midair. “Crowley, are you okay?!”

“...it’sss tickety-boo-”

“Nothing is fine, Crowley! You sound like you’ll die on me any second!”

“Won’t die”, came a non-assuring, reassuring response from the snake mess down below, and fired Aziraphale up to search more quickly for the clearing, shooting down towards it with a determined expression.

“Hold on, i’ll land right away!”

With a noise of twigs breaking and leaves rustling Aziraphale broke through the sea of crowns and rushed towards the ground, snake dangling a little scared in his claws as the demon only saw the surroundings swimming to a pulp, and felt wind digging sharply into his scales. But as quickly as the angel had started his dive, he was back down to earth, and quickly let the snake slide out of his talons, already changing back into a human.

“Crowley! Crowley, are you with me?!”

The snake hung limp in his palms and let out little hisses, which probably were supposed to be happy, but sounded like he was dying from the dive.

“Crowley! Listen to me!”

With a quick flick of the demon’s tongue he was back to human as well, and Aziraphale had trouble keeping him in his arms, having to take a few steps back before he could stabilize himself as well, and hold the demon safely.

“You have feathers in your hair”, Crowley purred and reached up to pick a bundle of light brown and white feathers out of the other’s curls.

“Crowley, you-!”

Playfully Crowley moved his hand with the feathers to his mouth and planted a soft kiss to them, soft barbules tickling his lips. They were just as soft as the angel’s feathers, though they didn’t smell as good.

“Oh you little-”, Aziraphale pressed out between gritted teeth and sighed before he pressed a kiss to the demon’s lips. “You demon.”

“Guilty”, Crowley hushed happily against the kiss before he was placed down, and Aziraphale retreated.

Lovingly Crowley watched the feathers in his hand move in the slight breeze. “Payback for you scaring the hell out of me.”

“It wasn’t supposed to, Crowley, you know that”, Aziraphale whined a little overwhelmed and sat down next to the demon on the tree trunk.

“I know, but it did. So take it”, he laughed and treasured the largest of the feathers in the palm of his hand, letting the others fall. “You’re a bastard, you know that, Aziraphale?”

“I...try not to be”, came the answer from the angel and he exhaled deeply.

“Of course you’re not”, Crowley teasingly slid the feather over his lips and crossed his legs.

The angel sighed and shook his head. Then he clasped his hands together in his lap and looked around the clearing. A nice one indeed. Not too small, not too big, several tree trunks and a large stone to sit on, a perfect view at the starry nightsky and all framed by large trees.

“I apologize for before, Crowley. I was just irritated by Shadwell.”

“Hm?”

Crowley gave him a confused look, then shrugged when he remembered what the other talked about. “’S alright. He confused me too.”

“Well, i’d say good, dear, but I guess that isn’t quite the right word. Though I am relieved, I wasn’t the only one”, he shot the demon a judging look. “But you didn’t really intend on anything, did you?”

Crowley shrugged and ran one hand through his hair. “I don’t care. I just wanna be with you.”

When he said that he blushed and cleared his throat. At that Aziraphale smiled and chuckled, wrapping one arm around Crowley’s shoulders and pulling him in closer, pressing a short kiss to his hair.

“Does that mean you forgive me for being a little rude, dear?”

Crowley nodded and chuntered a little embarrassed.

“Thank you”, Aziraphale smiled and took his hand, watching Crowley shiver at the contact, then, very inconspicuously, move in closer. While the angel’s gaze kept resting on the demon, the taller one had already reverted to looking back up into the sky. Only after a while he leaned his head onto Aziraphale’s shoulder with a bit of hesitation, and pointed upwards.

“That one was mine.”

“Is it?”, Aziraphale asked, one hand reaching up to ruffle through the demon’s hair, tangle his fingers into the curls. “It glistens very brightly.”

“Well...it was”, Crowley sighed and let his hand fall back into his lap.

“Why was?”

The angel’s hand stopped it’s movement, and he gave a confused look down to the red-hair.

“Well”, Crowley started and sighed, averting his eyes and staring to the angel’s soft-coloured pants, looking at the colour though not really looking at anything at all.

“I made them as Raphael, but i’m not him anymore. They don’t belong to me. They belong to god and heaven. No one else.”

Aziraphale raised an eyebrow, sighed, and moved his hand down, untangling it from the demon’s hair to trace his earlap, slide along his jawline and firmly press it onto his chin to force him to look up.

“Crowley, dear, from your reasoning I could take, that it would mean, that if someone was transgender, and before they transitioned they drew a picture, when they transitioned, it isn’t theirs anymore? Or if you changed your profession, would what you did during your previous profession not be yours anymore? Children grow up and change, but what they’ve done and created during childhood, will always be theirs to own.”

The angel took a deep breath and paused to look into the demon’s glistening eyes. They looked even more bright and vibrant in the dark, seemed like little stars of their own.

“And to continue, if someone was transgender, would it mean that if they transitioned, their old self just died? Or would it still be a part of them? And that goes for any and everyone, not only the trans people, though they are quite the best example to show what I mean. Do you understand, Crowley? Raphael”, he let go of Crowley’s chin to move his hand to the demon’s heart, rest his hand on his chest and feel his heart beat slowly.

“Is still you, and Crowley is too, and the stars will always be yours to take.”

Aziraphale watched the other frown and bite his lip, then finally the demon smiled and turned his gaze to look back up, a tear glistening in the corner of his eye, then was quickly wiped away with a sniff.

“...if you phrase it like that, I might just need to believe you”, he mumbled, placing his hand over the angel’s and holding onto him that way.

“I sure do hope so, my dear.”

With a bright smile on his face, Aziraphale shifted his hand around a bit and moved Crowley’s up, pressing a soft kiss onto the back of his hand. “I’m just glad if you understand.”

The demon flushed and flinched, shot a look up to Aziraphale and grumbled a quiet, half-hearted ‘stop it’, then pressed himself in a tad closer, slipping his hand from the other to point up into the sky once more.

“Have you ever seen northern lights?”

“I think I do have, was that one of yours too?”

“Yeah”, Crowley smiled and snapped his fingers, sighing a bit tired and slumping so his head fell into the angel’s lap, lying that way and watching the sky with half closed eyes. A rhythmic dance of misty colours danced across the sky and brightened it, bustling along the stars and flickering like pretty flames.

Aziraphale chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t do that, it’s just so obvious”, he said with a mocking undertone and made a gesture towards Crowley, miracling a blanket over the thin, demon’s body, then concentrating back on his hair, taking up strands to braid them while he watched the spectacle in the sky.

“Do you like it?”, came from the demon a bit sleepy, at which Aziraphale nodded. “It is lovely, dear.”

With skilled fingers the angel wove an intricate ornament of braids into the demon’s hair, listened to his lover’s breathing, and looked up when he saw something golden in the sky.

“Look, Crowley. A shooting star”, he said excited, quietly. “You’ve got to wish for something!”

When he didn’t respond, Aziraphale looked down and smiled when he saw the demon sleeping soundly. Humming quietly in delight he looked back up himself and spoke his wish in his mind, then concentrated back on the braids, tugging a little less forceful since he didn’t wish to wake his lover up.

At home Tracy looked out the window excitedly and laughed. Such pretty northern lights, she hadn’t seen such before around these areas. And if she had to guess, it wasn’t something that had come into existence naturally.

“Oh Shadwell, love, you have to watch”, she said when turning around, but slapped one hand onto her mouth when the old man only shuffled around in bed and snored. Oh that old bugger, fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. Of course only, if he was wearing his pajamas, else that was impossible.

“I have to say, if I wouldn’t love you so much, I would take pleasure in waking you up for this”, she said quietly while moving in closer to tuck him back into the blanket. It had slipped off the bed partly when he had moved.

Quietly she sneaked out the room and closed the door behind herself as silently she could. Giving another loving glance back to her lover she moved very carefully so the floorboards wouldn’t creak, and made her way over to the guest room.

“Love? Are you asleep?”, she asked, quietly knocking on the door.

“No”, came the immediate response, neither tainted by annoyance nor anger, just sounding rather tired and a little spaced out.

“Can I come in?”

“Hm.”

Carefully Tracy opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind herself. She had expected a mess based on what she had been told, the room to look like it’d been left after a purge. But the small demon only sat on a messy bed, curled up in a blanket and stared out the window. There wasn’t even anything thrown around, and no smudge on the blanket. There were dark specs on their cheeks and grime smudged around their eyes, but aside, it was clean.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it”, the woman asked, hands folded in her lap and moving in closer very slowly, and carefully, making sure to not scare the young one, or make them uncomfortable in her presence.

“It is”, Pollution answered a bit hoarse.

“Have you seen something like this before?”

The demon shook their head and finally looked over to her. “Why are you here?”

Tracy smiled and pointed to the side of the bed. “To check on you, love. May I sit down?”

They nodded, and she did, pushing the blanket aside so she wouldn’t sit on it. Then she searched the pocket of her wide, colourful pants and got a package of tissues out, handing them to the demon. “How are you feeling?”

A little reluctant the demon took it and stared at the tissue, taking one out and rubbing it between their fingers and tearing at it. Staring at the soft, white mess in their hands they shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes.”

They watched the pieces of the tissue saunter to the ground as they opened their hands, watched it scatter onto the floor. It felt nice. Then they took another one out, stared at it and pressed their thumbs into the soft fabric.

“I’m sorry.”

Tracy turned her gaze from the tissue to the demon’s face when they spoke and smiled reassuringly. “For what, dear?”

Polly glanced towards her, then to the wall the opposite direction. “For what I said.”

Thinking about it Tracy turned her gaze back towards the window where the colours still flamed across the sky. Only then did Polly glance back at her, waiting for her to show any sign of approval. They were sorry. They didn’t think that what they had said was completely wrong, but it had hurt those that they had grown to love, and that made them feel guilty. It was one thing to get them angry or to get into trouble, it was another to make them sad. And that they had most definitely done.

“Well, that happens to all of us from time to time. We all get emotional, get angry and sad, start lashing out, and accidentally hurt people. I’ve done that too, several times. You know, the only important thing in situations like these, is communication. Never leave a fight like this left unattended. If you see your flaws, and the others flaws, and you talk about it, then, and only then, can it work out.”

“...but, aren’t you hurt?”, Pollution asked a bit wary.

“Oh, I wouldn’t quite call it hurt. You overwhelmed me, love, and you shocked me. Suddenly declaring you hate your parents and wish to live with me. It surprised me greatly. And when you then said we lied to you, and weren’t on your side, the only thing I wished to tell you was, that you were wrong on that.”

She looked back towards Pollution and used her thumb to brush a bit of grime from her cheek, lovingly.

“Love, I know you for a day, and you are the most gorgeous, active, fascinating and beautiful little thing. You’re such a strong little kid, a real fighter, and you have very nice tasted indeed”, she said with a wink, then clasped her hands together in her lap.

“I would do anything for you, and I am proud to call you my little niephling. And I can assure you, your dads are proud to call you their child too.”

The demon hid the little smile creeping up their face and looked away, handing the tissue over to Tracy so she could wipe the grime of her finger. Other people liked to stay clean, Pollution had learned that.

“...are you sure?”, they asked a little unsure, while the woman grabbed a tissue and wiped her hand.

“Oh, Polly, you should have seen them. They were all tense and Mr. Angel looked on the verge of tears. They were all fidgety and looked at the clock every two seconds, were trying to rush after you. The moment the could your dad rushed to find you, and if I hadn’t kicked them out, they would probably have been anxiously sitting in a corner until you’d allow them to talk to you.”

Now the child did smile, a mixture of fun imagining their parents like that, and of happiness at the simple declaration of love that displayed to them. In hell no one had gotten cranky if one had an argument, or if one died. And they hadn’t cared, not in the slightest, but now. They grew to learn a kind of love, and fun, and happiness, and they sometimes wished to miss them again because of all the problems it would sometimes bring. But they loved it, that tingly feeling, that nice warmth spreading in their chest and calming their mind.

“Aunty?”

“Yes, Polly?”

The demon took a deep breath and wiped at their eyes. Then they gave an anxious look up at Tracy and turned fully towards her. Hugging the blanket they started speaking again. “I want to apologize to them.”

Tracy looked positively surprised for a moment, then smiled and pat their head. “I’m sure they will be glad to hear it when they come home.”

A slight smile curled their lips and they pushed up into the hand just slightly, staring at the blanket.

“Will you help me?”

“Of course, love.”

“Hm”, they nodded and looked back to the window. The northern lights had stopped as abruptly as they had started. “Aunty?”

“Mhm?”

“How do you deal with religious people calling you out on every occasion they can?”

Tracy huffed and her brows furrowed as a dark shadow lay over her eyes. “Your principal, yes?”, she asked and sighed. Pollution had told her some stories before, and Tracy didn’t appreciate one of them. The demon nodded.

“Well, it isn’t easy, I have to admit. As I personally am not LGBT I cannot say I have personal experience, but I’d say, deal with it the same way you do with everyone trying to call you out. First, always remember, if they call you out and you KNOW they are wrong, then always remember, the problem lays not with you, but with them. You are just fine as you are, and you keep doing that, and if they get cranky at you being yourself, well, then they are idiots.”

She huffed, then gave a grin over to the demon that followed with interest.

“Grab yourself some friends and rant about them. All you really need is someone supporting you. Aren’t you in the same class as Adam, that little troublemaker?”

They nodded, and Tracy continued, leaning in a bit closer, even the walls had ears, or ducks.

“I recommend playing some pranks on them, give sassy comebacks, as long as no one can feel purposefully attacked, or know it was you. And stay with the people supporting you, you don’t need toxic in your life. You are good as you are.”

Sighing she tugged a curly hairstrand behind her ear and folded her hands back together in her lap.

“Oh and, ALWAYS stand up for your family. Your family is the most important thing in your life, because your dads love and support you. Of course, violence is not an option, but NEVER grovel. Fight for yourself, and fight for the ones you love. Is that helpful, love?”

Pollution nodded, reassured in their actions and in the set of their mind. “But why did they get that angry at me for that?”

“Because of violence. They were quite flattered by you fighting for their little family, I assure you, but violence is always the wrong answer.”

“Right”, they nodded once more and pushed the blanket aside. “Aunt Tracy?”

“Yes, love?”

“You’re cool.”

They stood up, walked the few inches towards her and pulled her into a hug. A little surprised, but happily obliging, she wrapped her arms around the smaller and pulled them in closer. “You little rascal you, I assure you, I am the coolest aunt you’ll ever have”, she chuckled a bit teasing.

When the demon pulled back they were grinning happily and tilted their head to the side. “Are we going ‘garden watching’ again tomorrow?”

“Love, we ARE going ‘garden watching’ again tomorrow. Now you go to sleep you little rascal and tomorrow we’ll speak to your parents, yes?”

They nodded and jumped off the bed. “Where’s the couch?”

“Oh, right.”

Tracy took their hand and winked at them. “Just you follow me.”


	26. Forgive And Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a slow chapter, and I apologize I took so long for such a slow one. But I did also fix up some of the older chapters, and I finally did some more work on actually thinking about how long this fanfiction is gonna be, and I kinda planned it out a little more. So I wasn't completely hibernating, just mostly.

“Ngh”, Crowley mumbled and turned around in the bed, sniffling and bundling himself up closer in the soft blanket. Aziraphale chuntered and grumbled, slowly opening his eyes and blinking a few times. It was kind of cold now that the demon had stolen the blanket, and Aziraphale, who was not used to sleeping, felt heavy and drowsy now.

A bad idea to sleep, he remembered why he never did it. But yesterday Crowley had just kind of...tempted him to it. Or more like, the demon had been so sweet sleeping and looked so calm, that Aziraphale had been inclined to try it himself again. He would not another time.

“Wake up, dear”, he mumbled and pinched Crowley’s cheek. The demon complained quietly and shook the other’s hand off, rolling over and exhaling, raspy and deep.

“My dear boy, stop stealing the blanket further”, Aziraphale growled a little unamused now and tugged at it. Crowley finally opened his eyes and exhaled deeply, followed by a cough and sniff. The demon gave a tired look up at the angel, then yawned and sniffled once more. “Nmh...”

“Oh Crowley”, Aziraphale sighed, shook his head, blinked a few times and forced himself up. A struggle fighting the urge to close his eyes and drift off again. While it might be nice sleeping, waking up was the worst. He wondered why Crowley was so fond of it.

With a quick tug on it the angel pried the blanket away from his demon and pinched his nose. In reaction Crowley whined, then sucked in a raspy breath and had a coughing fit, letting out a pained groan.

Quickly Aziraphale pulled his hand back and gave Crowley a confused look. “Dear, have you gotten sick?”

The demon turned to lie on his back and stare at the ceiling, shivering slightly and groaning, opening his eyes again to first stare up, then glance at the angel, joking. “Nah, thought this sounded healthy.”

“Crowley...”, Aziraphale started warningly, but shook his head and sighed once more, rather bending over so his face hovered just above the other’s. “You should have told me, I would have gladly given you my coat.”

He pressed his lips onto Crowley’s into a soft kiss, intertwining his hands with the demon’s and humming quietly into it. The demon’s lips pricked as the blessing shot through him and he felt his nose unclogging, and throat being soothed. Sighing contently as he gradually felt better, Crowley deepened the kiss and licked over Aziraphale’s lips, asking for entry, which he was denied.

The angel pulled back now, looking into his lover’s eyes and losing himself in the bright colour for a moment, then pushed himself off of him and slipped off the bed. “Have you slept well?”

Crowley, who had been wanting to thank Aziraphale, and mockingly complain about him breaking the kiss, possibly complain more honestly than mockingly, yawned once more and rubbed his adam’s apple, a lingering feeling of a sore throat left. “Yeah, was nice.”

“Glad to hear that. You’ve not once woken up since you slept in on my lap at the clearing. I had to carry you back all the way.”

The demon flushed and looked around, confirming his memories with the surroundings. He wondered how he had been carried. On the angel’s back? Bridal style, or maybe chest to chest, picked up with his hands around Aziraphale’s neck, sleeping soundly? Or had Aziraphale just used a miracle? Crowley didn’t know, and his angel didn’t seem to wish to elaborate on it. Embarrassed Crowley, of course, wouldn’t ask either.

With a quick swipe over his clothes Aziraphale lit up when the wrinkles and folds magically disappeared, then held something out to Crowley. “I wouldn’t want you to get sick again, so please wear the scarf. It’s mine, I hope you don’t mind the tartan.”

Crowley did mind the tartan, but he didn’t mind wearing it anyway since it was Aziraphale’s. It even smelled sweetly like him, and his refreshing cologne. Quickly, and without any further complaints, the demon wrapped the scarf around his neck and pushed it up so his sharp nose dug into the soft folds. He took a deep breath, then slipped off the bed as well.

“You seem pleased, dear”, Aziraphale mocked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, holding one hand out to Crowley, who was fishing for words, but was shushed by his angel with a wordless smile. “Let’s go eat breakfast. I do wish to see how Polly is doing.”

Polly, yeah. The demon, who had clawed his hand into the scarf, and seemingly wouldn’t let go soon, other hand neatly tucked in Aziraphale’s, grew more anxious when thinking of their child. He hoped they could talk to them now, that was the most important thing. “Hope they talk to us.”

“I sure hope so”, the angel responded and opened the door to the dining room, getting a good look at Tracy and Pollution, who immediately whipped their heads around to stare at angel and demon.

Tracy gave a cheerful grin and waved, wiping her hands on a rag since she had been wiping the table with a wet cloth. “Dears, have you had a good evening? And a good morning of course too. Slept well?”

Crowley nodded into his scarf, glancing over to Polly who shyly hid behind the woman, while Aziraphale nodded with a big smile and squeezed the demon’s hand. “Good morning to you both too. We’ve been able to clear our heads a little yesterday. I have to say, you didn’t promise too much with the clearing. I hope you slept well too?”

Tracy nodded and gave a reassuring look to the child, patting them lovingly. “We had a talk to clear our heads yesterday too, haven’t we, love?”

Polly nodded a bit shy, looked off to the side and nestled with their shirt, biting their lip. The older woman gave Pollution a good look, while the two supernatural beings switched glances between the child and her, waiting for a kind of follow-up.

“Polly, dear, what have we talked about?”, Tracy said reassuringly, one hand on the childs’ back, leaning down to be able to speak quieter. Aziraphale exchanged glances with Crowley, then took a step forward to say something, but the woman shushed him with a shake of her head and one finger to her lips. He scuffled back a little confused.

Polly in thus shook their head and sighed. It felt...strange to say this, and something inside them raged violently against the niceness they wanted to portray. It was like something murky inside of them was being wiped away, and they didn’t know if that was good or not. They shook their head to clear it again, pressing their eyes shut and exhaling deeply. Then they took a step forward and held out their hand for Aziraphale.

“...I’m sorry for yesterday”, they pressed out, hand trembling in anxious expectation, staring to the ground, stomach turning. Tracy stood behind them, which was what gave them some kind of confidence under the stares of their parents and the turmoil inside of them.

The angel’s eyes widened for a moment, then he resorted to smiling and leaned down towards them, pulling them into a tight hug. “We apologize too, dear. We should have talked about what went down, not just ground you, maybe even unreasonably to some parts. I’m sorry, Polly.”

For a moment perplexed the child took a while before they wrapped their arms around their parent too, pushing their face into his shirt, tightly gripping onto him.

“Yeah, you were wrong-”, they finally muttered and averted their eyes. “I only defended myself...”

“You did, Polly, you did. I apologize, _we_ apologize. Dear, you did the right thing, and we are so proud to have you as our child, and, you won’t believe me, but you made me so happy hearing you fight for our family.”

“Only the violence was wrong”, Crowley added, stepping in closer himself and ruffling through their hair. They pushed up into the touch and sighed, feeling overwhelmed by strange emotions and thoughts.

“…I didn’t know what else to do.”

“And I am so sorry that we couldn’t be there to help you-”, Aziraphale said quietly, rubbing their back.

“Yeah. Next time we’re gonna kick their asses.”

The angel frowned at his demon’s words and shook his head. “No we won’t. But we won’t let such behaviour slide by ever again. It’s one thing to only involve us, but another to involve you, dear.”

“Fucking bitches involving children into their fights of self-righteousness. It’s ridiculous”, Crowley hissed, at which Polly couldn’t suppress a smirk.

“I have to agree. It is absolutely and utterly ridiculous and inexcusable. Polly, next time something like this happens, call us immediately.”

The child nodded reassured, feeling tingly and now pressed themselves closer into their dad. “I will...”

“Good.” Crowley squatted down next to them and wrapped his arms around both of them, hand still in Pollution’s white curls, gently ruffling through them. The demon child sniffled when they felt themselves being overwhelmed by a wave of emotions and bit their lip.

“About yesterday...”, they started, taking a deep breath.

“What about yesterday, dear?”

“...I shouldn’t have said those things. It hurt you, and I didn’t want that. I don’t actually mind having you as dads.”

Aziraphale lit up and snuffled emotionally, expression softening. “Oh Polly dear, apology accepted. Polly, I can not tell you how grateful we are to have you as our child. It’s been a short, but very emotional and amazing time and I could, and would not want to go back to a time without you. We promise from now on to concentrate more on communication and listen to you more intently.”

Polly snuffled and furrowed their brows, lips twitchy as they tried to respond. “...good.”

The moment that word had left them they had to bite their lip and felt something prickling in the corners of their eyes. They shook their head, snuffled once more, then exhaled shaky and pushed their face deep into the angel’s soft chest.

The angel couldn’t suppress a snuffle himself when he heard them fighting for their words and bit his lip, pressing them even closer to himself.

He let them cry, held them close and reassured them with small words, while Crowley continued patting them silently.

When Polly finally pulled back they frantically wiped their eyes and pouted, snuffling once more before wiping the snot into their sleeve. “Got something in my eye”, they mumbled embarrassed and walked back to Tracy, tugging at her skirt and pushing themselves closer to her.

Drying his eyes himself, the angel finally stood back up and tugged at his clothes, wiping the black spots away with a small miracle. “Oh, Polly”, he swooned, snuffling and squeezing Crowley’s hand as he regained his control. It was just too sweet how emotional they had gotten over apologizing, and they seemed satisfied enough with it, a bit puzzled maybe.

“Shaddap...”, they muttered and turned to look away, avoiding his gaze.

The angel didn’t know how it was for demon’s to do something ‘nice’, how that would affect them. He only knew that if angel’s did something ‘bad’, or he did, he felt dirty afterwards, like his insides were all slimy and wrong. He hoped it was better for them. They, after all, weren’t used to it, unlike Crowley. Aziraphale could only guess if the demon by his side had ever had such a big problem being nice. Not when he thought back to all those years before Christ. And every single other time really.

“Can we eat now?”, Shadwell finally said, having appeared in the doorway and silently watched what had went down with an unchanged expression.

“Oh, yes, of course, can we?”, Tracy asked around, squeezing Pollution’s hand reassuringly and giving them a bright smile, which they responded to with a smaller one themselves.

Both angel and demon nodded, Pollution too seemed eager for a cup of cocoa, and except for Tracy and Aziraphale, they all sat down. The angel made a quick handgesture to lay the table, then gave Tracy three cups, adding another one when Crowley mentioned liking a coffee.

With four steaming mugs the two finally returned to the table where Shadwell was already biting old bread, drinking condensed milk out of a glass, and Pollution was smearing a load of jam on their toast. Crowley took the coffee and sipped it, holding it in his palms, looking as if he was still cold, which he wasn’t, but he liked how comfortable it was with the scarf and coffee warming him.

The other three had cocoa and sipped it in unison, sighing contently at the sickeningly sweet chocolaty milk.

“Well, to having made up”, Tracy said and grinned, the other cups were raised to the toast, only Shadwell sighed and rolled his eyes, a milky white beard on his upper lip. The older woman ignored that, sighed softly and only gave him a napkin, pointing to her lip.

“Thank you for all your help and support, Tracy”, Aziraphale beamed back after taking a sip from his drink, savouring the cocoa on his tongue for a moment. “It really helped us, and I think you too, hasn’t she, Polly?”

The young demon shrugged and nodded, giving Tracy a knowing look at which the woman laughed happily. “Oh please, i’ve done nothing of the sort. You’ve blessed me with the greatest niephling I could have, and taking care of little Polly is now my greatest duty in life!”

She wrapped one arm around the child and pulled them close. “Isn’t that right?”

The demon child snorted and buried their face behind the mug of hot cocoa, nodding and whispering: “Don’t forget the garden”, which elicited a chuckle from the woman. “Of course not.”

“What are you two on about?”, Aziraphale finally asked, letting his suspicion of the two take over.

Polly perked up, glanced up to Tracy, shrugged and concentrated on their food, not responding. So the angel referred to directing the question at the woman, giving her an intent look. “Please, love, we’re only going into the garden. Polly here’s taken quite the liking to the vegetables i’m growing”

“Oh, you’re growing vegetables?”

“Yes, of course! Tomatoes and peppers, love, i’m living a good old country life out here with Shaddy.”

“Oh, Crowley, we have to try that too!”, the angel turned towards his demon who raised an eyebrow and grumbled something. With a quick pull Crowley pulled the scarf away from his mouth and nudged Aziraphale. “This wasn’t about vegetables, angel.”

“Oh, yes, of course, right, Tracy, I don’t believe you’re going garden watching with them. Polly, you’re a disaster with plants, we’ve confirmed that when you’ve been at your dad’s place and killed half of his plants-”

“Not killed, I made them better”, Pollution interrupted him, sulking.

“No you didn’t. You killed half of the ones you worked on, and the others took ages to fix back into shape, and they’re still behind on the others!”

Now Crowley was the one who let himself be distracted from the subject, so this time Aziraphale shot _him_ a glance and shook his head. “What are you doing ‘in the garden’?”

“Just looking, d a d s”, Pollution responded annoyed and rolled their eyes. Opening their mouth as if to continue, they thought about it for a moment, deemed it not worth it to start another fight since they had just made up, and shut up. Instead Tracy took it upon herself to elaborate.

“Loves, just because you’ve had bad experiences before, you need to remember, people grow and change. Even if they have been so bad just a short while ago, doesn’t mean they won’t have any interest in it now.”

Crowley raised an eyebrow and shook his head, starting with: “They’re pollution, not earth lover, think they will just-”

“Crowley, dear, stop. She does have a point.”

The demon gave a confused look over to his angel and closed his mouth.

“Polly, I will believe you on this. Tracy, you too”, he switched between looking at Polly and Tracy, which made the child squirm uncomfortably and Tracy swallow. She didn’t lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either, and maybe, maybe she should be more honest about this, but also, she was the aunt, and Polly should be able to have more fun with her.

The older woman was a little torn, so to say.

“Anyway, let me help you clean up, don’t want you to do everything”, the angel continued, while Tracy already held her hands up in defence. “Please, you three are my guests, you don’t need to do anything.”

But Aziraphale only shook his head and stood up to gather empty plates and cups, gathering up cutlery, while Tracy sighed in defeat and helped put away the toppings and bread. The demons and Shadwell watched, sipping their drinks, Crowley eyeing the child for a kind of indicator they had been lying, which was denied by a cheeky look.

While Pollution still seemed pent up and a little more aware of their words than they had before, they still seemed to have relaxed again to other parts. Enough to return to their little arrogant attitude. Though they themselves didn’t even know what arrogant meant.

Tracy didn’t even have the time to wash the dishes, since Pollution immediately stood up when they deemed they had waited long enough, downed their cocoa, hummed satisfied and hurried to tug at the woman’s skirt. Apologizing to the angel she gave in to the small demon’s request and hurried outside with them, not before hurrying to Shadwell, who seemed a little pouty, whispering something in his ear, then giving him a kiss, before she was basically dragged out of the room.

“Crowley, will you help me?”, Aziraphale asked, pointing to the dishes with a frown, at which Crowley tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Oh, well, just”, the angel rubbed the back of his neck and gave a doubting look to the dishes. “Tracy said the dishwasher is full and it’s a joy to wash them by hand, so I should try that.”

“Eh, can’t we just use a miracle?”

“Nay.”

The demon turned around when Shadwell spoke and watched the old man glaring at them.

“Stop usin’ yer magic in me house, it will filthy it.”

“You just ATE from a miracled plate-”, the demon pointed out confused, at which the old man pointed to the plates. “I ate from the table. I refute to eat from a witch.”

Aziraphale rolled his eyes and grabbed Crowley’s sleeve to pull him to the sink, already letting it fill up with water and putting soap in until white foam bubbles covered the surface. “We’re not witches, Mr. Shadwell, we’ve talked about this. It’s more a thing of heaven and hell.”

“Well, laddie, how do you explain my magic finger then, huh?” Shadwell pointed his finger to a gun towards the two celestials. The angel only sighed and scrubbed the plate a little unamused. He didn’t like the idea of his fingers pruning up by dirty tap water. “Didn’t Tracy say she’s got you off that idea?”

The old man opened his mouth, grumbled and retreated his finger, puffing his pipe a little bothered, then stood up and walked out of the room.

“What a sad man he is”, Aziraphale sighed and shook his head, grimacing as he watched a blotch of jam swim in the water when he scrubbed it off the plate.

“What a sad man he’s gonna be if he tries anything”, Crowley hissed unamused, holding a rag and waiting to dry off what his angel had washed. “You sure you don’t want to miracle this?”

Aziraphale was about to shake his head in dismay and decline, when they heard an engine roaring up outside. The angel perked, let the dish sink back into the water and gave Crowley a disapproving look. “Is this what I think it is?”

“If you mean the old hag’s bike, it is.”

“We’re miracling.”

One snap and the sink was clean, the dishes neatly stacked to one side, and the rags folded on the other. The engine roared once more, and Aziraphale hurried to take his lover’s hand and drag him to the front door. A little puzzled the demon stumbled after him, not exactly on the same page as Aziraphale.

“Garden watching my ass”, the angel grumbled darkly and pushed open the front door, which resulted in Crowley giving an astonished glance towards him, though not mentioning anything.

Outside they watched the moped drive around the corner, only seeing Tracy’s red hair flowing under the helmet and her back towards them. Her back towards them? Did that mean...? Aziraphale clenched his fists and closed the door, straightened his bow tie and let go off Crowley’s hand. “We’re following them. I will not tolerate such foolish behaviour being imprinted on our child. I should have never believed them in the first place.”

“Aren’t they just taking a cruise?”

“Crowley”, Aziraphale started warningly, turning just enough before taking quick steps forward. “My dear, she is letting our child drive a moped under the codeword of garden watching, lying to us. As much as I appreciate her for cheering up Polly, this is a serious issue.”

“And how in the hell are we gonna follow them?”

“The Bentley?”

“And then what, gonna drive beside them with a lowered window and try to talk to them? Angel, that won’t work.”

“Well, what do you suggest then, Crowley? And do hurry it up.”

‘Not like the moped is so fast’, the demon mumbled annoyed and searched his mind, then thought of something.

“We just fly there.”

“Have you gone completely insane? How are we going to fly in the open like this? Cloaking is such a bother, and then to uncloak for only certain people, and then staying beside-”

“Angel.”

Crowley interrupted him and rummaged around in his pocket; he had found out that he still had it just before. Pulling out a light brown feather he shoved it into the angel’s face, at which his eyes widened in recognition and he sighed. “Of course, how could I have not thought of it myself. Dear, do switch please.”

Indeed not too far away, of course not with how ‘fast’ -slow- the moped was, Pollution was pressed up into Tracy’s chest, enjoying the wind in their hair, wearing only old goggles. No matter how slow this thing was, not only was it old and thus quite environment unfriendly, it was the closest thing they could get to an actual motorcycle, and they enjoyed every bit of it.

“You doing good there, love?”, the woman asked, watching Pollution push their hands onto the rod best they could. The demon nodded frantically and let out a laugh. When they heard a weird noise they whipped their head around, then gave a confused look up to Tracy.

“What was that?”

The woman looked rather puzzled herself and glanced to her sides. There that sound was again. “That, love, is an owl. Though it’s unusual for one to start hooting this early in the morning. They’re nocturnal-”, she started, frowning.

“That an owl?”, Pollution pointed to their side.

And indeed, there was a fluffy, fat, tawny owl, holding a limp snake in it’s talons flying right next the two.

Utterly confused by now Tracy watched the owl flap it’s wings, then looked at the lifeless snake, then towards Pollution, then again to the animals. “What in the world-?”

“Wait, dads?”, Polly asked annoyed and frowned. The owl responded with a hoot, then spoke in the angel’s voice. “Indeed, very observant of you to notice.”

The owl sounded pleased.

“Aziraphale, love? Is that you?” Tracy didn’t even think about looking at the street anymore, eyes focused on the animal speaking to her. Celestial beings, yeah, but animals? That was new to her. Though she guessed angels could just change their form? Or could they? She was an occult, but religious celestials weren’t quite her best field of knowledge. She didn’t know more than any regular churchgoer would know.

“Yes, Tracy, it is me”, Aziraphale responded disapproving and was met with a grumpy child. “Why are you here?”

“To get you off that thssssing”, the snake hissed, and again Tracy didn’t know what to think. “Crowley?”

“Yessss.”

“Tracy, dear, please check the road.”

At the reminder the woman finally could tear her eyes off that weird encounter and quickly turned the handle bar so they were saved from going off the street and into a ditch.

“Good. Now, tell me again why you lied to us?”, the owl asked while it set the snake down into Pollution’s lap. It quickly slithered around their small body and rested it’s head on their shoulder. The owl itself landed on the rod and tilted it’s head a little, waiting for a response.

“I-”, Tracy started, frowning and mind a little scrambled. She felt a bit like she was dreaming. “Should I maybe park the moped somewhere?”

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“Right, yes.”

She shook her head to clear it, then inspected the owl closely, making sure that it really wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her.

“This is not your mind playing tricks on you, dear.”

“Ah”, she chuckled and looked a bit defeated. “Was it that obvious?”

“It was. Now, why did you lie to us?”

Tracy cleared her throat and slowed down a little, giving a glance to the owl, then looking back onto the street. “Well, we didn’t lie.”

“This doesn’t look like a garden to me, Tracy.”

“Smartass-”, Pollution mumbled, and was immediately met with a snake hissing something into their ear at which the perked up, pouted, mumbled an unspoken apology and looked off to the side.

“We didn’t lie, we were in the garden. They really do like the vegetables, don’t you, Polly?”

The child shrugged and grumbled. “They look cool.”

The owl turned it’s head towards them, the snake shook it’s own. “They’re not lying.”

Aziraphale sighed then and turned towards Tracy once more. “Then why are you here and not in the garden? Were you really in the garden yesterday too? I heard the engine yesterday too almost immediately.”

The woman grinned a bit caught and stepped on the gas again, taking a turn at a branch-off. “Well, yesterday it really was a codeword.”

The owl hooted displeased, and Tracy started to feel a bit guilty for it. Then she huffed though and shot the owl a disapproving glance. “Be as displeased as you wish, but consider this, love. Little Polly doesn’t even have a bike, and motorcycles are their one big hobby. Now you expect me to just sit there and force them to digging in the dirt and picking their nose because they’ve been forced out here? No, love, you’re wrong on that.”

Aziraphale huffed. “We’ve been thinking about getting them a bike, It’s been a month, Tracy, we apologize for not being able to be perfect on everything yet. We’re learning. I apologize for overreacting.”

He hooted in a mixture of embarrassment and frustration, then pranced. “I will underline though, to next time speak truthfully about it.”

Tracy nodded. “Of course, I was a little fast on my side too. I apologize, love.”

She frowned and grimaced, letting out a chuckle though when the owl voiced it’s worry.

“I thought you had been letting them drive herself.”

She shook her head and grinned. “Love, just who do you think I am. They are too small for that.”

“Well, yes”, Aziraphale started, but was shushed by another chuckle from the woman. “They can keep their hands on the handlebar as much they won’t, but i’m the one driving. Though I did allow them to direct me around a bit.”

She winked and nudged Polly. “You’re a better driver than me, it seems, mhm?”

The child smiled a bit bashful and grinned. “Of course, i’ve done it several years longer than you have.”

“Oh you little, cheeky brat”, Tracy laughed and pinched their cheek, before she was addressed again by the owl. “I’m just relieved it’s not the case.”

Once more the woman shook her head in reassurance. “I would never endanger them, I told you. I might be a little crazy, but I am responsible.”

“Yes”, Aziraphale sighed and moved around a bit, getting more comfortable with a pleased hoot. “I apologize again-”

“No need to, you were worried for your child”, Tracy interrupted him rather seriously and gave the owl a smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

Aziraphale looked puzzled for a moment, smiled rather relaxed himself, however that worked being an owl, and ruffled his feathers, before Pollution finally spoked up again.

“About that bike thing, can I get one?”

The owl perked up and looked over to Crowley, then shrugged and tilted his head to the side, mocking. “If your dad doesn’t mind me miracling a bike trailer to his car again.”

“It had tartan stripes and-”

“Dad?” Pollution gave the snake puppy-dog eyes and acted cutesy, having picked that up from a classmate of theirs. “Please?”

The snake hissed a little overwhelmed, then grumbled something and let it’s tongue flick out. “Whatever.”

“Sweet.”

The demon watched the snake, then the owl expectantly.

“Where do we get bikes, Tracy?”

“Oh, there should be a bike store next city. I’ve bought mine there.”

“Good.”

The owl turned it’s head around completely and stared behind it’s back, then backed away confused and gave Tracy a puzzled look when she nudged it’s stomach. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, sorry, I was just thinking, are you really an owl?”

Aziraphale tilted his head to the side. “That depends how you see it, but I’d guess the easiest answer would be, yes.”

“How did that come to be?”


	27. Home Grooming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took incredibly long to write and I apologize for it. I've been having bad writer's block, and I still do, and I can't and couldn't get comfortable with what i've written and am writing. So I tried my best so somehow finish a chapter and then try to rid myself of this block before writing the next chapters.

Aziraphale popped his spine with a satisfied noise and stretched. How good it felt to be home again. Not that he hadn’t liked it at Tracy’s place, quite the opposite actually, he had enjoyed the rustic interior of their home, engulfed in nature, rather nice he had to say, but something about being back at home was just nicer. The cozy smell and feel of the bookshop, his treasures all neatly stacked in the shelves, knowing where everything was, having their own room, and their own bed, which was several times softer and bigger than the one Tracy had provided them with. 

“What a nice vacation”, he said to none of the two demons in particular who stood in the middle of the bookshop with bags over their shoulders. 

“Mhm, yeah”, came a shrugged response from Pollution, and Crowley only nodded, yawning. 

The angel huffed a little bothered at that, hands on his hips and sighing. “You two could really be more communicative sometimes. Would it kill you to speak just a bit more?”

“Yep”, Pollution answered cheeky and walked past the two, shifting the bag and pulling out their phone. “I’m gonna go up to my room.” 

“Oh, right, do that.”

Aziraphale watched them lazily walk up the stairs, already frantically typing and grinning. Must have some good story to tell, he thought. If he had to guess, it would be about their new bike. They had been more than happy, hadn’t wanted to drive home on the moped and had instead, under Aziraphale’s guidance, driven home on their bike. And they had been damn proud of that. 

Upstairs a door slammed shut, and a loud groan followed right after. Right, there had been that issue. Their room. They had left it messy as they had made it, and Aziraphale still didn’t know how it looked inside, but guessing from their reaction, it couldn’t have been nice. 

A scream was accompanied by the door slamming open and Pollution ran down the stairs, clutching something gray in their hands and looking worried. They nearly fell over, so Crowley saved them with a small miracle. The angel beamed him a thankful smile for that, then Pollution was already in their face, black eyes staring down at the rat in their hands, then looking anxiously up at their parents.

“He’s not breathing!”

The angel looked at the rat’s corpse a little appalled, grimacing before giving the child a forced smile. “Dear, did that happen when you were having your little...outbreak upstairs?”

They huffed and clenched the corpse tighter, glaring at Aziraphale. “I made sure that nothing would happen to him! Why is he still dead?!” 

“Well, dear...”, Aziraphale started, pointing towards the animal. “I’d say you must have forgotten to feed him then. He probably starved.”

“But...” 

The child looked at their hands crestfallen, watching Pestilence for a moment before they pressed him close to their heart. “But he wasn’t that old yet...”

“Dear, we did remind you to feed him, didn’t we? We-”

“You didn’t remind me to feed him this weekend!”

“Dear, I thought-”, Aziraphale said, searching for the right words for a moment before sighing and continuing. “I thought he had died during your outbreak up there-”

“I...how fucking dare you!”, they yelled out, eyes blackening unstable, trembling while they glanced towards Pestilence, then glared back at the angel. “I would never hurt him! He’s mine! You...I fucking take back everything I said before!”

The child snuffled and gritted their teeth, ready to lash out, when Crowley put one hand on their shoulder and shook his head. “Polly, stop.”

“No! I-”

“Show me Pestilence.”

The older demon squatted down before them and reached one hand out for their rat. A little reluctant they handed him over, watching Crowley inspect him closely. 

“...can you fix him?”, they finally asked, biting their lip and nestling with their fingers.

Raising one eyebrow Crowley watched the child, then gave a good look towards the rat in his hands that he carefully held. Thinking about it for a moment he sighed, then smiled at Pollution, reaching out to pat them reassuringly. “Watch closely.”

With a grin he bowed further towards the rat and gently blew a calm wind into it’s direction. First one claw twitched, then the nose, then thighs. Finally the rat scrambled around and rolled over in Crowley’s hands. He had to catch it and help it up, then he carefully held the sniffling rat in one hand, patting it with his free one. 

“Pestilence!”, Pollution beamed, reaching out to pat the rat and take it back into their arms, but Crowley shook his head and shifted away from their hands. 

“Nuh-uh. One thing first.” He held one finger up, at which the child furrowed their brows and tilted their head to their side. “What.”

“Remember to feed him, alright? We can’t always remind you. You said you love him, yeah? Then make a list or something to remind you to take care of him.”

A little relieved at the simple request Pollution frantically nodded and reached out once more. This time Crowley did let the squirming rat wander over into their arms. Gleaming happily the child nuzzled the rat and pressed it close to their chest, giggling quietly. The older demon watched that pleased, but gave them another advice, standing back up, rubbing the back of his neck and looking troubled.

“I can’t help him again, okay? So make sure to take care of him.”

They nodded frantically and Crowley ruffled through their hair, earning a happy purr from them as they pushed up into it, their previous anger at Aziraphale seemingly forgotten. Then they turned around on the spot and were about to run up the stairs, when the older demon stopped them once more. “And clean your room!”

Their expression darkened, then they stuck out their tongue and grimaced. “...alright.”

Just as quick as they had run down, they ran back upstairs, slamming the door behind them once more. 

Sighing relieved when they were gone, Aziraphale nestled with his bow-tie, smiling thankfully. “Thank you, dear. That was very kind of you.”

“And very unkind of you”, the demon responded with a frown. “What the hell was that just now?”

“I-”, the angel tried to start with an excuse, pulling at his bow-tie a little nervously, then giving up with an apologetic grimace. “Oh Crowley, I just- I have to admit, I hoped that the rat would stay...um, dead.”

He admitted that with a little, pained sting in his heart. Crowley looked a little unbelieving for a moment, then he grinned mocking. “Brother Pigeon and sister Slug, yeah? Love for all creatures?”

“Crowley-”, the angel pressed through his teeth, eyes closed to not have to see that cheeky expression on the demon’s face. He knew he was wrong in thinking that, and that he was contradicting himself, but he just...couldn’t help it. 

“I know it is wrong of me, I do know it, I just-”

He took a deep breath when imagining Pestilence and shook his head, a shiver running up his spine. “That...that ball of fleas. Crowley, they were the cause of the great epidemic just 1347. You do remember yourself how horrible that was, don’t you?”

The older demon grimaced remembering that and the same shiver ran up his spine, creeping up his arms. 1348 the sickness had gotten to him as well, and he remembered Aziraphale having trouble too. “I do.”

Shaking his head he crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave the angel an unbelieving look though. “Angel, it’s 2010. That’s seven centuries worth of evolution for humanity. Pestilence is a dead sickness, that’s why Pollution’s a horseman in the first place, remember? No one is gonna get infected by it again.”

“I know, dear, I know-”, Aziraphale admitted and exhaled deeply. “I just can’t get over my disgust for those...things. And putting pestilence aside, just imagine how many of them are down there in the sewers, rolling around in feces and dirt and carrying sicknesses. It is incredibly unhygienic and disgusting.”

He jumped when a loud thump came from upstairs and glanced to the ceiling. Crowley did the same, continued though when nothing followed up. Pollution must be cleaning up. 

“We don’t got a sewer rat up there, angel. Pestilence hasn’t even seen the sewers. We’ve established that before buying him.”

“Crowley, I know, I just-”

The angel sighed and shook his head. “Change of subject. I apologize, next time I will try harder to be nice to him. He isn’t responsible for what his brethren are doing, or have done.”

“Alright”, Crowley just nodded shrugging and stretched once more. He would let him change the subject for this one, Crowley knew he couldn’t ever make Aziraphale love the rat. Maybe tolerate some more, in a few years, but aside… Yawning he ran one hand through his hair and gave a look upwards, it had become kind of silent with only an occasional scraping of heavy objects over the ground. 

For a moment there was an awkward silence between them. Crowley had resorted to walking over to a shelf and staring at the books, squinting his eyes to read the titles. Neither of them knew how to continue the conversation after this, but Aziraphale felt inclined to try. He knew he’d come up with something if he just managed to overcome this awkward silence.

“Crowley?” 

The angel sighed and finally let go of his bow-tie, folding his hands to rest them on his stomach like he usually did. The demon turned his head and watched Aziraphale, slowly feeling himself melting into those apologetic puppy dog eyes. He hadn’t concentrated on them in a while, not in just a sweet way. They had been arguing a lot and been concentrating on Polly rather than themselves, and the last time they had been alone had been when Crowley had made crepes. And that had been with a rather strong sexual innuendo, and while that didn’t exclude being sweet, it hadn’t been that fluttery feeling in his chest. 

“Um, Crowley?” 

When the taller one caught himself staring he shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets, yellow eyes refocusing on his lover. “Hm?”

“Oh, good, I thought I had lost you for a second there”, the angel sighed relieved and reached out towards Crowley, carefully reaching out for one of the demon’s hair-strands and appreciatively rubbing it between thumb and forefinger. 

If it had been only a month earlier Crowley would have flinched and jumped away, but like this he only froze and felt his heartbeat growing louder, rising from his chest to ears. 

“Dear, when I’ve been watching you sleep at the clearing, I just couldn’t take my eyes off that pretty hair of yours.” 

He moved in even closer until their chests nearly touched, reaching out with his other hand too to tangle it up in that soft, red hair. 

“It seemed so bright in the dark, all messy with you curling up on my lap.”

Crowley couldn’t hide the embarrassed blush creep up his face and opened his mouth to stutter in denial, but he quickly shut it again. 

“And it is so soft too, couldn’t take my hands off it if I wanted to”, the angel giggled continuing, slipping his hands from the demon and taking one step back, leaving the demon feeling a little cold all of a sudden, his heartbeat slowing and quieting down just slightly. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now, dear, have you ever tried caring for your hair in a human way?”

The tingle finally quieted down in Crowley’s head and he shrugged, not letting his eyes off the angel. “Once. I broke the comb.”

“You did what?”

“I broke the comb”, Crowley repeated, tugging at his hair to make his point more obvious. “It hurt like shit, had to pry to even get it through my hair.”

“Dear, when was that?”

The demon tilted his head to the side, thinking about it while his right hand was tangled up in his hair, unconsciously running through the strands. “Sometime around the Noah ark?”

“Around the Noah ark?”, Aziraphale huffed and put his hands on his hips. “Dear, have you never taken care of yourself? First your wings, now your hair...next you’re telling me you never showered.”

A little perplexed, and possibly a tad offended, Crowley crossed his arms in front of his chest and pouted. “I just didn’t brush it like a damn human would, alright? It’s way easier to just miracle it done.”

“Well, dear. You can’t blame me on thinking you might have just not taken care of yourself at all after that thing with your wings.” 

“That’s something different...”, Crowley grumbled and slumped. Noting the change the angel cleared his throat and beamed a smile up.

“Would you like to try brushing your hair again?”

“Not really”, Crowley trailed off, straightened up and pushed up his glasses. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh...”, came the angel’s disappointed response. He looked a little crestfallen now and stopped fidgeting with his fingers to instead grow rather calm. 

“I was just thinking, I would enjoy playing around with your hair a little. It just seemed so overly soft and beautiful and nice, but if you would no-”

“Alright.”

When Aziraphale was interrupted he looked a bit perplexed at the demon and tilted his head to the side. “What ‘alright’?”

“You can brush it”, Crowley sighed and looked off to the side. From the corner of his eyes he thought he could see a cheeky smile from Aziraphale, but he could be wrong. Possibly was, he thought to himself. 

“Why thank you, dear!”

Aziraphale turned around, a brush appearing in his hand, and walked towards the couch sitting right in the bookshop. Sitting down he pat his lap and beamed with gleeful happiness, smiling at the demon with the brush resting firmly in his palm. 

A little unsure Crowley followed him, hand finally untangling from his hair. 

“Just sit down in front of me, dear”, Aziraphale gestured and spread his legs so Crowley could sit between. The demon blushed, raised an eyebrow, slowly sat down and was almost immediately pressed down into a sitting position by a firm and strong hand. Aziraphale had ‘helped’ him hurry it up a little, now quickly finding his hands into the red curls. 

“Are you sitting comfortably?”

Swallowing hard Crowley nodded and tensed up, shifting around enough to feel halfway comfortable, which was hard enough. When the brush’s tinsels touched his scalp he shuddered and froze up. He could already feel the pain just thinking about it. 

Of course the angel noted that and shifted the brush away, resting his hands on the sides of Crowley’s head, just above his slightly pointed ears. “Dear, let me assure you. Over the course of centuries the technology of brushes and combs has grown to be more comfortable. And I assure you, I will not be rough in the slightest.”

“You better not be lying”, Crowley mumbled and shifted around a little to get out of the tensed up state. Aziraphale nodded, though the demon could not see it, and leaned down to press a soft kiss onto the back of the demon’s head. 

“I would never lie to you, dear”, he whispered against the hair that smelled of cinnamon and ashes and a glint of smoke. It smelled oddly nice, oddly demonic. Though, of course, his idea of demonic would always be influenced by his demon, while demon’s in reality instead of smelling like fire, they would smell of water and rot or oddly sweet. Though most of humanity seemed to think of the smell of fire too when thinking of demons. The angel wondered why.

Gently he slipped his hands back and picked up a hair-strand, appreciating it in the palm of his hand for a moment before he carefully ran the brush through it. The strands were oddly soft and had no knots, seemed even better taken care of then the angel’s own, if he had to compare it. He was almost tempted to be jealous. 

Slowly he moved the brush through the curls once more, taking up another hair strand to watch the tinsels separate the slim ruby strands from one another. It was fascinating to watch. He didn’t know what to compare it with. Maybe the flowing of a liquidized red ruby, or maybe autumn leaves glimmering in the dim light of the afternoon sun with little rain drops glistening on top like small pearls. The colour and fascination of a flare or fireworks.

With a hum he dropped the brush to the side and gently gathered up Crowley’s hair to bundle it up at the back. “Dear, your hair is gorgeous. I wouldn’t need to brush it if I wanted to.”

The demon let out a shaky sigh in response and let his head fall back, staring up at the angel from behind his glasses. 

“So...?”, he asked mumbled and moved one hand up towards where his hair was held together. 

A little confused the angel responded with freeing his hair and leaning in closer. “’So,’ what, dear?”

“Uh”, the demon answered, fumbling with his words before he ran his hands up to Aziraphale’s face, cupping it a little embarrassed. “...you gonna stop?”

With a sly smile the angel first cupped his lover’s hands, then slowly slid them off himself and back into Crowley’s lap. “Would you wish me to?”

A vicious shake of his head and the needy pout were response enough, though Aziraphale still wished to tease his lover a little more. 

“Dear, will you always be too shy to speak with me?”

Feeling a little caught the demon bit his lip and shook his head again, snapping. “I’m not shy…!”

“Then why do you always resort to being quiet at times like these?”

“I- just- shut up”, came a hushed response and Crowley averted his eyes, resting his chin back on his chest so Aziraphale had a good overview of his hair. 

Giggling the angel picked some strands back up and carefully ran his hands through them. “Dear, for now I will, but i’m coming back to it.” When he tugged a little rougher Crowley hissed a little growled as a response, which Aziraphale had a little trouble interpreting.

“Oh, Crowley, I was just thinking, at Noah’s ark, didn’t you have a little braid in your hair?”

“You remember that?”, came a mumbled answer while the demon glanced up towards him.

“Am I wrong?”

“Nah, just didn’t think you’d noticed it.”

Aziraphale giggled and shook his head. “Oh Asmodeus, dear.”

The demon hissed at the name and nudged his angel’s leg with his elbow. “Just keep going-”

Still quietly chuckling the angel separated the strands in his hand into three similar strands, tugging at them while he thought about how a braid worked again. When he found he knew how it worked he placed one strand above the other, switched their places, looked at it and felt gratified. He hadn’t done a braid in ages, but he still knew how to do it. Humming he continued, firmly but gently braiding the strands. 

And the demon had to deny, it felt nice, feeling the angel worship and appreciate his hair so much. He felt like taking a nap then and there, that would have been nice, so he continued relaxing into the touches. The tugging was only a blunt sting under the firm grasp of his lover. It was positively enchanting. 

With one braid done Aziraphale tucked it into place and moved his hands to continue on another, again taking up those three strands to braid. 

“Dear, are y-”

“Dad!”

While the angel only tensed up and jumped slightly, Crowley not only jumped but also let a hissed yelp slip past his lips.

“Dad dad dad da-”

“What?!”, finally came the demon’s snapped response as he glared at Pollution, fanged teeth gritted. Aziraphale was still holding the half finished braid, unsure of what to do but giving the smaller demon an equally displeased look.

“I cleaned my room.”

“Congratulations, now shush”, Crowley pointed upstairs, beckoning them to leave. He had just been enjoying his lover running his hands through his hair, ready to nap and feel blissful, when they had surprised him enough for him to lose his composure for just a second. He had just enough control to not start hissing.

Aziraphale whispered something that sounded like ‘no need to be rude, Crowley’, but Crowley didn’t hear it.

“Why?”, came the child’s confused response and they tilted their head to the side with gleaming eyes.

“Why-? Wha- I- argh!” 

One snap of his fingers and Pollution felt as if an invisible hand was tugging at their shirt and pulling them back up the stairs. 

“Crowley-”, Aziraphale started but was interrupted by their child struggling at the invisible bind and yanking their body. “Let me go!!”

One snap of the angel and Crowley’s miracle was cancelled out. 

“Wha- angel, why?”, he glanced up to his lover who looked thoughtful. 

Pollution, who had been struggling against the hand, now fell back onto the stairs and huffed, straightening their clothes before running back down and this time right into their faces. 

“What is it, dear?”, Aziraphale asked, letting the unfinished braid slip from his hands and relaxing more into the couch.

Pollution crossed their arms in front of their chest and pouted. “I want a cool bicycle bell for my bike. Everyone else got them.”  
“Wha-?!”

“You want a bicycle bell? Dear, we can go look for one, but do you mind waiting a moment? Your dad and I-”

“He promised me that he’d go and buy me whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted!”, Pollution pointed at the older demon accusingly.

Raising an eyebrow the angel looked at the speechless demon between his legs and folded his hands in his lap.

“Is that true, Crowley?”

“Well, no, yeah, I mean, it is-”

“See?” Pollution flashed them both a smug smile and crossed their arms in front of their chest. 

“No, nonononono, there was no whenever, only-!”

“Daaaaaad!”, Pollution whimpered and gave the angel puppy-dog eyes. Aziraphale couldn’t say no to that. He was honestly not sure which demon to believe, but it was clear there had been such a promise, so he guessed he’d back out of it. 

“Crowley, if you made a promise, you have to keep it.”

“But I didn’t-!”

“Crowley”, the angel said more warningly. The demon flinched and quickly scuffled away from his lover so he could stand up better, then glared at Pollution. 

Aziraphale looked displeased too, but he only closed his eyes for a few moments, took a deep breath, then flashed the two his usual smile. “I’ll just stay home and clean up, you two go, it’s your promise.”

Growling Crowley gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists which he shoved back into his pockets. “Yeah, alright, whatever, let’s go.”

The child felt successful and stuck out their tongue at the two when neither saw it. 

“Ah, Polly”, Aziraphale called after them and the child turned around to look at him with wide eyes. 

“Please don’t make a habit out of surprising us like this, alright?”

He smiled, but Polly could feel the sharp edge in his words. So they nodded and felt a shiver creep up their spine, then they turned and waved, not seeing the angel wave back.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Praise me to make me lose myself](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20061607) by [Blobfish_Virus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blobfish_Virus/pseuds/Blobfish_Virus), [Skrolan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skrolan/pseuds/Skrolan)




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